


Together

by Miajune



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, Deaf Character, Donnie - Freeform, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Feels, Fights, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Lime, Loss, Love, Past Child Abuse, Reunions, Road Trips, Romance, Sign Language, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-04-12 08:09:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 48,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19128028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miajune/pseuds/Miajune
Summary: Daryl x Connie (Donnie) slow burn romance / Daryl, Connie, Henry, Lydia and Dog are on the road, trying to escape from the Whisperers / Daryl is still not over losing Rick / Takes place after the events of episode 9x13





	1. Short Visit

Daryl was sitting on the stairs of a house in Alexandria. He was holding a note in his hands which he found earlier in his pocket.

 _We have friends, she doesn't,_ it said, written in neat little letters.

Daryl sighed. He had a bad feeling in his gut about this, but there was no going back now. He made a promise to Henry, Lydia and Connie. They would stay together, even if that meant they couldn't stay in one of the communities, because it was too dangerous for the people living there.  
They already endangered Alexandria by stopping by and Daryl felt bad about that too. He was exhausted and tired, but nevertheless he planed to leave as soon as Henry was patched up.

Michonne came to him and sat down next to him.  
Daryl saw the concerned look on her face. She didn't say anything.

"Look, I know it wasn't the best idea to come here. We just didn't have a choice, Henry was hurt."

Michonne didn't answer so he added: "And we'll be gone before the sun sets."

"You know in what a danger you are putting us," Michonne said gravely.

Daryl gave her an apologizing look.

"The girl is a threat, to everyone living here and at Hilltop," Michonne continued.

"We ain't going to Hilltop," Daryl said with determination.

Michonne gave him a questioning look.

"And where do you plan to go?" She asked.

"I dunno yet."

Michonne sighed.

"But we figure something out," Daryl hastened to add. "Don't worry, we ain't your concern."

"Not my concern? You are family! And she's not." Michonne looked in Lydia's direction, who stood in front of the infirmary and glanced around insecurely.

"Maybe," Daryl said, "but she doesn't have anyone else."

"She has a family too," Michonne reminded him, but Daryl shook his head.

"They're maybe blood, but not family."

"You really feel responsible for that girl," Michonne noted with a little astonishment in her voice.

"Can't help it. I made a promise to her." Daryl thought about Connie. "And to others too."

"And she's worth it? To risk your lives for her?" Michonne was still concerned.

Daryl looked at the note he was holding in his hand and then thought about Connie's decisive look. She certainly wasn't leaving Lydia behind. And he wasn't leaving their group behind. They were all in it. Together.

"She is," Daryl answered and Michonne saw that he was confident about it.

She stood up and sighed again.

"Okay, I know, I can't stop you, so do whatever you think is right. Just be careful, alright?"

Daryl nodded.

"You should get yourself patched up too, you're looking pretty bad," Michonne said when she started to walk away. "I'll get you some supplies for your trip in the meantime."

Daryl smiled thankfully.

Connie watched Daryl walking towards the infirmary. Beta had beaten him up badly and she was certain he had received some injuries during the fight. But he didn't show it. The way he walked hadn't changed at all and there was still this special lightness in it. While his footsteps were determined, his arms were swinging to and fro. Connie observed the lonely wing on the back of his vest, asking herself, how he lost the other one, which was obviously ripped off. The term _fallen angel_  came into her head. But no,  _guardian angel_  fitted him better. She remembered how he came out into the field, to help her when she rescued the baby from walkers. How he went to save Henry and how he agreed to take Lydia with them, even if that put them in mortal danger. Being rough on the outside, he seemed to have a truly good heart.  
Connie asked herself what they were going to do now and felt her heart stinging a little bit, when she thought about Kelly. She couldn't leave her sister behind without saying anything, she had to explain it to her. And this was something she had to tell Daryl. She was certain he would understand.

After Siddiq finished stitching the wounds on Daryl's face and his arm, Daryl thanked him and walked towards the front door. When passing by, Daryl took a look in the mirror, which was hanging in the hallway. The man on the other side of the mirror looked terrible. His right eye began to swell and his face was still covered in dirt and blood, his hair stuck stingy to his forehead. He looked worn out and he could feel the bruises all over his body under the sweaty clothes. His back was aching from the fight and the pain intensified more and more. This Beta got him good. He knew it was a close call and that he got lucky. When he stepped outside Connie seemed to be examining him. Suddenly awkwardly aware of his appearance he felt embarrassed. Unlike him, she looked as clean and beautiful as always, even after fighting and walking so long. Daryl walked over to Michonne, who was still preparing some supplies for them, and asked her for some fresh clothes. He felt even more embarrassed when Michonne rose her eyebrow, but said nothing. He never really cared about the clothes he was wearing, as long as they were practical. He had spent a lot of time on his own and Dog didn't care much about his appearance either. But now he would have to travel with other people and maybe it was time to clean himself a little bit.

"Here you go, Sir," Michonne teased him, when she brought him the fresh clothes.

"There's also a washing tub behind the house, if you feel the need to clean up before your journey." Michonne looked at Connie and then back at Daryl with a suggestive smile.

"It's not what you think," Daryl responded hastily.

"Oh, I think someone has a good influence on you," Michonne told him, making Daryl blush.

She gave him a friendly shoulder punch.

"That's good. Because you know... you're starting to smell worse than your dog," she joked and walked away.

Daryl walked behind the house and sniffed at his armpits. He knew Michonne was teasing him. Yes, he was sweaty, but it wasn't like he never washed himself. Even if he thought it was a waste of time and there were more important things to do, he still did some quick washing now and then. He preferred to bath in the lake, though. After an incident with his violent father, who had almost drown him in a tub once, he always had that uneasy feeling, when he was standing in a bathroom.

As he saw the washtub, he almost went back again, but somehow Michonne's teasing voice still rang in his ears. And what if Connie thought he smelled bad? What if she was disgusted by him? For sure they had a long way to go and he would sweat a lot again, so why even care? And why did he care so much about what she might think of him? Torn between finding it ridiculous and wanting to make a good impression, Daryl finally decided that a quick washing wouldn't do him any harm.

Daryl's group and a couple of Alexandria's inhabitants were standing by the gate. There was an awkward silence when Daryl came walking towards them, his clothes slightly dampened, his hair still wet. All eyes were on him and Michonne couldn't hide her grin. Daryl even thought he saw an approving smile on Connie's face. He tried to hide his embarrassment and cleared his throat.

"Ready?" he asked in the round and the members of his little group nodded.

"Let's go then."

Before they left they thanked Michonne for the supplies and she apologized for not being able to spare more.  
When Daryl caught sight of Judith and the sad look on her face, it almost broke his heart. She grew up a lot since the last time he saw her and Daryl regretted that he hadn't spent more time with her. He knew she liked him a lot. Daryl crouched in front of her and patted her arm.

"Sorry that I have to leave again, kiddo," he apologized.

"You just came here, why are you leaving already?" She asked him.

"You see, Lydia, she ain't safe here. There are bad people who want to hurt her, so we have to protect her and move on, to find a safer place for all of us," Daryl explained in a soft voice.

Judith was still sad, but she tried to accept that.

"When will you come back?"

Daryl sighed.

"I'll be gone for a while. But I'll come back some day, I promise."

Judith's eyes were full of tears.

"I will miss you, Uncle Daryl," she said and hugged him.

"I'll miss you too." He hugged her back, overwhelmed by his emotions. Even if it hurt, he had to go. Michonne hugged Daryl too and then, followed by Dog, the little group left Alexandria.


	2. On the Road

The members of the group walked in silence. Connie was watching Daryl closely while he seemed to be caught up in his thoughts. She liked his silent nature, but she was also wondering why he was looking so sad. Was it because of the short meetup with the people in Alexandria? It had to be. He seemed to be very close with Michonne and Judith. She saw, how hard it was for him to say goodbye. It was a shame she knew so little about him. But at least they had a lot of time on their hands, so there would be many possibilities, to get to know each other better. Connie also wanted to ask Daryl about her sister, but she was waiting for the right moment. Instead she took her notepad out and wrote:

_Where are we going?_

She touched Daryl's elbow slightly and showed him her note.

"Oh, I know a place." He pointed into the distance. Connie liked how he was gesticulating when talking to her.

"I've a stash there," Daryl continued. "But it's a long walk and it's getting dark. We'll probably have to spend the night in the woods."

Connie understood and nodded.

Before the night fell, they found a place deep in the woods, where they stopped. After they ate, Henry and Lydia volunteered to take watch and Daryl agreed. Connie could see that he was more than exhausted and relieved he could take some rest. She lay down on the ground next to him. They were facing each other and their eyes met for a brief moment. Then she saw how Daryl slowly closed his eyes and it looked like he fell asleep immediately. She was tired too, but couldn't fall asleep directly, so she watched Daryl sleeping for a while. Then she closed her eyes and finally fell asleep.

The next day they were on the road again. Daryl was leading the group to the place he left, after Carol asked him to take care of Henry. It seemed to him, like this was a long time ago and he knew he had to let her know, Henry was alright. They had to figure out what to do next too, but first they had to refill their supplies.

He turned his head, looking behind him, where Henry and Lydia were following him and Connie. They were holding hands and whispering something in each others ears. Daryl rolled his eyes, turned his head back and caught sight of Connie, who was looking at him. Their eyes met and he thought he saw her a slight smile on her lips.

Suddenly Dog, who was walking in front of them, stopped. He pulled his ears back and growled. Daryl gave everybody the signal to stop. He took his crossbow and aimed with it in the direction Dog was looking, Connie aimed with her slingshot too and Henry stepped in front of Lydia with his stick up, ready to protect her. They heard groaning and moaning and a couple of walkers came out of the woods.

"Watch out! Don't let'em get too close!" Daryl advised the others, knowing that the walkers could be Whisperers. His body tensed and he felt adrenaline rushing through his veins, while he was shooting the walkers with his crossbow. He was trying to take them out from distance and he also tried to watch over Connie and the kids.

Despite his injury, Henry was fighting at full strength and Lydia seemed to admire that. She was fighting too and killed a walker with the spear, Henry made for her.

While Daryl was watching the kids, a walker came from behind. Daryl sensed something was approaching him and turned around, ready to shoot it, but in the moment he wanted to shoot, something hit the walker right between the eyes. Daryl nodded gratefully in Connie's direction, who had killed the walker with her slingshot. Then he put his crossbow up and shot a walker, which was approaching Connie. The walker was almost as tall as Beta and when Daryl killed it, the body of the dead walker hit Connie, who was caught by surprise. The dead walker knocked her over and she fell. Daryl was immediately by her side, reaching out his hand to help her to get up. He felt the soft touch of her hand in his and a warm feeling filled his heart, when she nodded and smiled gratefully, when he asked her, if she was okay.

Dog helped Lydia and Henry to get rid of the last walker and then they continued their way.

They arrived at their destination right after the sunset.

Daryl made a fire and they ate in silence, concentrated on the food, since they didn't eat the whole day. The place was secured with alarms, but the alarms were only effective against walkers. Somebody with an intact brain could have still been able to sneak up on them. So Daryl said he would take watch. Connie and the kids went to sleep in a tent.

When Connie woke up, it was the middle of the night and the kids were sleeping soundly.  
She got out of the tent, to get some fresh air. It took her a couple of minutes to adjust to the darkness. Dog, who was sleeping in front of the tent, woke up when he noticed her presence, and she softly petted his head. She saw Daryl, who was sitting under a tree, not far away from her. His eyes seemed to be open, but he didn't notice her. He was looking in the opposite direction, his crossbow in his hands, ready to shoot whatever was lurking in the woods before him.

She took a moment to observe him. She was usually attracted by a different kind of man and still she couldn't deny that there was something very appealing about him.  
His broad shoulders, the strong arms and his protective manner. He gave her the feeling of security and since the outbreak she only felt that way when she was with her friends. Connie knew, he would give his life to protect her and the kids. He had proved it already several times.  
What she liked about him too, were his anticipated looks when she was writing notes to him. He peeked at them, like he couldn't wait to see her answer. She also had noticed how he looked at her when he thought she wasn't looking. Did he feel attracted to her too? She didn't know for sure, but he seemed to admire her intelligence at least, which was a big compliment for her. She stood up and started walking towards him.

Daryl turned his head as he heard the steps behind him. Connie sat down next to him and they exchanged a look. The moonlight shone brightly in their direction and Connie could examine Daryl's features, his beard, which was slowly turning gray, the scar over his left eye. The right eye looked a bit puffy and there were a couple of bruises on his face. He looked tired too.

_He must be very exhausted,_ she thought. The fight with Beta wasn't an easy one and he probably still felt the after-effects of that. They had to walk so many miles since then and she didn't notice him resting much either. He only had slept a couple of hours last night.

He was staring into the dark woods before him as she softly touched his hand. Surprised by this touch he looked at her hand and at her face. She smiled at him, like she was saying:  _Thank you for everything._ She hoped he would understand this gesture and the look in his eyes told her he did.  
Then she pointed with two fingers to her eyes and then towards the woods.

"You wanna take watch?" He asked her and she nodded. It was time he got some rest.

"Alright," his lips said. He stood up and added: "Thanks."

Before he left, he paused for a moment and then his hand touched her shoulder. It was only a brief, soft touch, like the one from two days ago and still it made Connie's heart beat faster and gave her goosebumps. Then he left. Connie gazed after him and wished his touch would have lingered on a little longer this time.


	3. Family

The next morning Daryl was teaching Henry how to fish while Connie and Lydia were collecting wood for the fire.

"I'm so glad I can be with your group. With Henry. Thank you so much for letting me stay," Lydia said shyly and Connie smiled and patted her shoulder.

When they came back, Henry was proudly holding up a fish, he just caught. But then the fish slipped out of his hand and landed in the river again. Henry was a little bit embarrassed as they all started laughing, but Daryl was able to retrieve the fish again.

While they were eating lunch, Dog was happily playing in the water.

"Dog, come!" Daryl called him. Dog came running. Still overexcited he jumped up and started licking Daryl's face.

"No, stop," Daryl protested. "I ain't your lunch!"

The others started laughing again and Dog finally stopped.

"Here, boy." Daryl gave him some fish and Dog happily run off to enjoy his meal in peace.

After lunch Daryl got out a map and explained to them where he planed to go next.

"We're not staying here?" Henry asked surprised.

"Nah, it's still too close to Alexandria. We move further out."

"Towards the Kingdom," Daryl added after a pause and looked at Henry. "I have to talk to your mom."

Daryl could see Henry's face turning pale. He knew it wouldn't be easy to return the boy home and probably Henry would refuse to go back, but at least he had to talk to his parents.

Connie started to write  _Fair_  on her notepad. Daryl, who was always peeking at what she was writing, said immediately: "Yeah, it must've started already."

Connie pointed first at the note and then at herself.

"Oh, you wanna go there? Alone?" Daryl's voice sounded surprised. Somehow he didn't want to let her go.

_Because she's smart and resourceful and I don't want to babysit two teenagers on my own,_  he tried to convince himself.

Connie wrote on the notepad:  _Kelly, my sister, will be there. I have to meet her._

"Right," Daryl said remembering that Connie left her sister behind. So maybe she didn't want to leave them for long. Good thing was, she could tell Carol what happened and maybe they would even be able to arrange a meetup for Henry and his parents.

"We need a plan, though," Daryl said. He looked at the map and pointed at a certain location.

"We stay here in the woods," He circled with his finger around the spot.

"Close, but not too close and you go to meet to your sister," he told Connie. "You could also tell Henry's parents that he's safe and maybe tell 'em where they can find us."

"But me and Lydia, we'll stay with you after that, right?" Henry asked nervously.

"For now, yeah," Daryl answered already starting to feel uneasy about how he would have to explain all of it to Carol and how she would react to all of this.

"But let's see what your mom says." For sure she would want to take Henry back. Henry, who had his arm around Lydia's shoulder, pulled her closer and Daryl saw the determined look on his face. Yes, It wasn't going to be easy at all, Henry was head over ears in love.

Daryl looked at Connie. He was nervous about letting her go. What if she was leaving for good? Going back to her sister and friends and never coming back to him? He had to know right now, if it was true.

"You're coming back to us after you talked to them, right?" Daryl asked cautiously and when Connie nodded and smiled, he felt more than relieved.

"Good," he said and couldn't hide the joy in his voice.

"So that's how we do it," Daryl finally said. "We stay another night here and then we go."

When the sun was setting, they had already prepared everything for their next journey. Lydia and Henry were sitting under a tree and exchanging amorous glances. Daryl watched them briefly and then went with Dog to the riverbank, where he sat down. He thought about their long trip to Kingdom, which would probably take two days at least or maybe more and how they could avoid to be tracked by the Whisperers, when they went there. Daryl was petting Dog's head, completely lost in his thoughts.  
Connie came to him and sat down next to him.

They sat in silence for a while, watching the water and the sunset. There was a pleasant breeze and everything seemed so calm and peaceful.

Daryl slowly turned his head towards Connie, whose eyes were still focused on the water. He couldn't deny that she had a beautiful face and he couldn't take his eyes from it. He had seen many beautiful women in his life and Connie was for sure one of them, but there was something else about her. She amazed him, she was smart and resourceful. She had a good heart too. She wasn't afraid to challenge him either. She was definitively tough, maybe even tougher than he was, since she survived in this word despite having the handicap of being deaf. Daryl didn't realize that he was staring at her the whole time, but Connie noticed that and turned her head to face him.

"You're missing your friends, don't ya?" Daryl hastened to say. Since she looked a little sad, it was the first thing that came to his mind.

Connie nodded and lowered her eyes. Suddenly there was even more sadness in them. Then she took out her notepad and wrote:

_They'_ _r_ _e_ _my family_ _._

"Oh, I get that," Daryl said, after he read her note.

"I miss my family members too," he admitted. "All of 'em, the living and the dead ones."

He was surprised how easily he could talk to her. He never felt so at ease with people he recently met. Usually it took him a long time to get used to a person, before he could talk about personal stuff. But with Connie he felt at ease almost since the moment she followed him, to search Henry and he also had the feeling that she could truly understand him.

"I lost someone," he continued and his voice almost broke as he spoke. "It was long ago, but I still miss him. Still can't believe he's gone." Daryl paused and threw a stone into the water.

"You would've liked him," he said with a sad smile. Connie smiled back.

Daryl turned his eyes away from her and focused on the river when he felt tears coming up. He thought about Rick, about the day he lost him.

_Brother, take my hand._ This was one of the last things he ever said to him. Yes, they were brothers and will always be. Daryl was trying hard to hold his tears back and when he saw the compassionate look in Connie's eyes, it seemed almost impossible not to cry. He cleared his throat.

"He's gone for a while now, though," he finally said, trying to brush the pain away.

Connie patted his shoulder gently.

"We'll get you to your sister. I promise," Daryl said then in a soft voice and saw gratitude in Connie's eyes.


	4. Farmhouse

The next day they left early in the morning. Dog was joyfully running in front of the group. Daryl walked next to Henry, who was asking him out about hunting and fishing, Connie and Lydia were walking behind them. Connie was teaching Lydia some ASL signs. Lydia asked her what the sign for  _I like you_  was and Connie showed it to her. Lydia was a quick learner and Connie had taken a shine to the girl already.  
Connie always wanted to have children of her own, but either the time wasn't right or she didn't have the right partner for that. It seemed like timing was never on her side regarding this and she finally accepted that she would probably never have children. At least she had her sister, who she always took care of. Connie had maternal feelings towards Lydia and Henry too, but she still missed her sister and felt like she had forsaken her.  
She noticed that Henry turned around a couple of times to glimpse at Lydia and each time he turned his head, Daryl turned his head too, glancing mostly at Connie. Once she even thought his eyes went quickly up and down. Was he checking her out? Or was she imagining it? If he did, she certainly didn't mind. She was eyeing his body too, while walking behind him and couldn't complain about the sight.

The group came across a beautiful big farmhouse. It was afternoon already and all of them were slowly getting hungry. Daryl turned around once again and pointed at the house, Connie nodded and so they went in its direction. There were a couple of walkers around the house and the group killed them easily. Being together for some time, they learned how to work together and they became a good team. Connie noticed an apple tree with apples on it, as they were passing by.

When they arrived at the front door, Daryl made a stop sign with his hand and knocked several times on the door. Lydia and Henry were checking the windows in the meantime and Connie was standing in front of the door with her slingshot out, ready to shoot. But they didn't see or hear anything, so they went inside.

The house was untidy, there were a lot of spider webs and dust. The dirt indicated that the house was abandoned long ago and it's former inhabitants didn't seem to have taken much care of it. Beautiful on the outside, inside it was a complete mess. The floor was covered with garbage and all of them had to watch their steps. It stank abominably and Connie had to cover her nose, feeling a wave of nausea rising in her throat. Dog on the opposite, was delighted and searched the garbage for something to eat. He was making too much noise and was interrupted by Daryl who told him: "Dog, out!"

They searched the house but didn't find much, only a couple of tools. There was not even a little food left.

Connie went off to the bedroom. The door made a creaking noise when she opened it slowly and the smell coming from there, was even worse. She saw a grotesque picture before her. A man was hanging from the ceiling, his corpse was dried out and he was literally only skin and bones. The rope across his throat was attached to a lamp. Suddenly he awakened almost like he had slept for 100 years. His eyes opened and his dry mouth was opening and closing.

At the table next to him there was another corpse, a female one, sitting in a chair, with her head on a table. She was wearing a dress and she had long hair, that was dirty. A gun was lying under her bony fingers, it was the weapon, that probably ended her life.

Connie didn't know, why this scene shocked her so much, she had seen things far worse, and still…

Daryl approached her from behind and scared her a little when he lay a hand on her shoulder. His touch felt warm and comforting. He turned her slowly so she would face him and told her "C'mon" while he was shoving her out of the room. Then he quickly checked it and returned with the gun in his hand. Connie looked at it with sadness in her eyes.

"Could be useful," Daryl said and shrugged.

"Nothing else in there?" Lydia asked.

"No," Daryl answered firmly.

"C'mon, we're leaving."

Connie couldn't wait to leave the house, it made her sick.

Outside Connie slightly touched Daryl's arm and pointed to the apple tree.

"Yeah, we should get some of these," he agreed. Henry volunteered to climb up and get some apples, but he was clumsy and fell off the tree before he could reach any of the apples. The others from the group managed to catch him. They were all lying on the ground, laughing. Lydia had definitely more luck. She climbed the tree with quick, skillful movements and threw some apples down, where the others collected them, putting most of them in a bag, to safe them for later. Then Lydia came down with four apples in her hands She handed everyone one and threw one to Daryl, who was standing furthest from her. But before he was able to catch it, Dog jumped up and caught it with his teeth.

"Dog, out!" Daryl shouted, but Dog didn't listen. He probably thought it was the right time to play a game. Daryl chased him and Dog always let Daryl come closer just to run away again. The others were laughing tears, watching this. Finally Daryl came back with the apple he retrieved from Dog. It was full of biting marks and covered in Dog's saliva. Daryl tried to clean it on his pants.

"You're not really going to eat that?" Henry asked disgusted a little bit. Lydia laughed and Connie offered Daryl her apple.

"Sure, it's still good," he said and took a bite. Then he cut off a piece with his knife and gave it to Dog. Dog sniffed at it for a while. Apples didn't seem to be Dog's favorite food and playing with the apple must have been funnier, but finally Dog took the apple piece cautiously and ate it.

"Still can't believe you ate that apple, after Dog chewed on it," Henry said when they were on their way again.

"Why? Wasn't anything wrong with it."

Henry still looked disgusted.

"You should get used to it, You ain't going to have warm dinner on your table every day. Sometimes you'll have to eat whatever you find, to survive."

"Like worms?" Henry grimaced when he remembered he ate a worm to impress Lydia.

"Better than nothing," Daryl said dryly. Henry sighed

"You'll get used to it" Daryl gave him a pat on the back.

They battled their way through thick bushes and came to a meadow. Suddenly Daryl stopped and caught his breath. Not far away he saw somebody, looking painfully familiar to him. The person was standing with his back to him, but Daryl thought he recognized the body type... the clothes ... the hairstyle.

"Rick?"


	5. Brother

Daryl's throat was so dry, the words coming out of his mouth weren't more than a whisper. His heart was pounding fast in his chest.

Was it really him? His brother? Did he finally find him after all these years?

Daryl's hands began to shake a little bit. He wanted to be sure and his knees were week as he walked towards the figure.  
Daryl's group didn't see what suddenly caught his attention, but nevertheless they followed him.

_It can't be that he's alive, can it?_  The thoughts were racing in Daryl's head.

The silhouette was standing near the edge of a hill with it's back to Daryl, so Daryl couldn't see its face. Daryl tried to brush away the hope, his friend was still alive, but nevertheless he called his name again:

"Rick?" Daryl's voice sounded scratchier than usual.

The figure turned around and Daryl could see it was a defaced walker. But still, he was not close enough to see if this was Rick, who turned.

Daryl aimed with his crossbow, hands still shaking, tears forming in his eyes.

"Daryl?" Henry asked quietly as he saw Daryl being so tensed and everyone else in the group was concerned too.

The walker started to walk towards them, but suddenly it tripped and fell and rolled downwards the hill.

"Damn it!" Daryl shouted and ran into the direction where the walker disappeared, followed by everyone. He stopped at the edge of the hill and looked down. The walker landed on the road underneath the hill with its face on the ground. And there were about ten walkers surrounding it. Daryl was enraged at not being able to see the face of the walker. The others were confused and Connie gave Daryl a questioning look.

"I think that's maybe..." He looked down and then at Connie again.

"Maybe that's Rick," he explained. "The person I've lost."

She nodded and looked down too. Then she aimed with her slingshot and gave Daryl an encouraging nod. He nodded back in answer and they started shooting the walkers down on the road from above with everything they had. When they finished most of the walkers they climbed carefully down and finished the rest. Daryl walked over to the "Rick-walker" who was lying there with his face on the ground, an arrow in his head. Daryl retrieved the arrow carefully and turned around his head with a touch of hesitation. He felt disappointment and relief at once, when he saw the face of the walker. It didn't resemble Rick's face at all. Daryl sat down on a ground with a groan, still staring at him.  
Connie looked Daryl in the eye and he shook his head.

"It's not him," Daryl said. "It's not him."

They stayed there a couple of minutes, giving Daryl time to regain his composure. Then Connie helped him to get up and they continued to walk.

"I remember Rick," Henry told Daryl.

Carol told Henry once how Daryl was looking everywhere for Rick and that he kept doing it, even after many years passed by.

"He was a good man. It's sad that he's gone," Henry continued.

"Yeah," Daryl said depressed.

"Sorry, it wasn't him." Henry said then.

"Thanks."

Connie felt sorry for Daryl. She remembered how sad he looked when he told her he lost someone. So probably he was talking about Rick back then. She could empathize with that a lot. If anything happened to her sister… She couldn't live with that.

It was getting dark and they set up a camp in the forest. Daryl was sitting by the small fire, they made, while Henry and Lydia were sleeping. Dog was resting next to him. Connie prepared her sleeping place and watched Daryl. She could sense his pain. She almost felt it in her heart. Somehow seeing him sad made her sad too. She longed to comfort him. She wanted to hug him. To hold him close to her and maybe that would take his pain away. But she didn't know how to approach him and she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable.

She wrote  _Sorry about Rick_  on her notepad, went to him and showed it to him.

Daryl looked up and thanked her. Connie sat down next to him. He threw a couple of branches into the fire.

"I know he's dead," he told her. "Stupid heart just don't want to accept that."

This was so sad that she almost started to cry.

Connie laid her hand on his arm to comfort him. Daryl looked at her and slowly, almost like in slow motion put his hand over hers. His palm felt rough and warm.  
They didn't do anything else, they just sat there, looking at each other and enjoying the touch. Daryl had tears in his eyes. Connie smiled to cheer him up and she was almost certain, there was a little sad smile on Daryl's face too.

The world was standing still for a moment.

Then something hit their alarm and Daryl could hear walkers approaching.


	6. On the Run

The peaceful moment between Connie and Daryl came to a sudden end. Connie ran off to wake Lydia and Henry, but both of them were already up, along with Dog who was barking at one of the walkers. Three walkers had already made their way into the little camp. The group killed them all and after that there was a strange silence and everything was calm again. Daryl saw something flashing on the ground and when he came closer he shuddered. One of the dead walkers was holding a knife.

_T_ _hey found us!_  The thought struck him like a lightning

"We have to move on, now!" He shouted to the others, who instantly understood. They quickly grabbed whatever they could get and ran off. And then everything became even worse. More and more walkers were coming after them. It was dark, almost too dark to see anything, but nevertheless the group members ran as fast as they could. Breathing heavily, tripping, trudging through branches. Henry held Lydia by the hand and Daryl held Connie's hand, so they wouldn't get separated. Dog was running in front of them. The group couldn't take all the walkers and Whisperers, it was too dark and there were too many of them. They came like a big wave over the little group. Daryl's heart was beating fast, adrenaline rushing through his veins, blood pounding in his temples. He was trying to figure out how to get rid of the walkers and the Whisperers. Now and then he and Connie stopped and aimed at those, who were getting too close. After shooting them, they immediately continued to run. But there were still so many of them and it seemed like they were coming from every direction now. The group had to change its path so often, even Daryl was about to lose his sense of orientation. He had to figure something out, quickly. He knew, they had to get out of the woods because they were at disadvantage there.  
Luckily they were faster than the walkers and they finally succeeded to shake them off for the moment. They all crouched under some bushes and Daryl was hoping the moonlight would be bright enough, so Connie would be able to read his lips.

"Okay, we shook 'em off, but that's certainly not for long," he said.

"Listen, we have to separate."

Connie shook her head disapprovingly.

"Yes, we do," Daryl responded with a nod.

"I'll distract them. I've this one." He got out the gun from the farmhouse and showed it to them.

"It's loud, so I might be able to redirect them and you all can escape." Connie still didn't approve that.

She was already writing something and Daryl sighed.

_We stay together!_  She wrote. And then:  _We're only strong together!_

"Look, we don't have a choice," Daryl tried to explain, but Connie showed him the note with  _We stay together_ again and he knew it had no use to argue, when he saw the determined look on her face.

Daryl tried to come up with another idea and he suddenly remembered that the Sanctuary wasn't far away. Probably it was their best shot. They could hide there and it was a better environment to fight, if the Whisperers caught them again.

Daryl made a sign for the others to follow him and all of them did so this time.

Their legs were hardly carrying them and the sun was beginning to rise as they finally arrived at the gates of the Sanctuary. They went through the gates with caution and Daryl couldn't believe he was there again. He didn't see the place for a long time and he was glad about it. It was the place where he was tortured once, the place where he tried so hard to be a good leader, the place that was doomed no matter what. Connie and him were walking in front of Lydia, Henry and Dog, when he suddenly saw a group of people. Instantly Daryl pressed his back against a wall and pulled Connie close to him, so she wouldn't walk in their field of view. He put a finger against his mouth as a signal to be quiet and everyone understood. The kids hid against a wall too, Henry was holding Dog back.

Daryl tried to focus, but he couldn't ignore the fact that he was holding Connie close in his arms, her hand pressed against his chest and he was sure she could feel how fast his heart was beating. Being close to her intensified his heart rate, but at least there was a good excuse for his pounding heart, since they ran a lot and now they had to hide from a potential threat.

Daryl took a peek at the silhouettes. Who were those people? He couldn't see them clearly. Were those some of the Saviors who ran away? But Carol told him she took care of them. Maybe a new threat? For sure they weren't Whisperers.

Daryl heard horses approaching and two more men came along, who caught sight of Daryl and the others.

"Shit," Daryl murmured and told the others to run, but the man on the horse stopped them.

He was dressed like a cowboy and had a shotgun in his hands. Daryl thought he looked odd.

"I wouldn't do that," he told Daryl, who sneakily tried to retrieve his gun.

"Who are you?" Daryl asked angrily. The other men came closing in on Daryl's group and Dog started to bark.

"We are the Highwaymen," the horseman said and Daryl and Connie exchanged a skeptical look.

"And you are Daryl, I suppose?" The man continued and Daryl was more than surprised, the cowboy knew his name.

"How..." he started, but the man interrupted him.

"The Kingdom sent us to find you and your group. We will escort you there."

"We can't go there, there are people following us," Henry told the man and Daryl gave him a stern look. He still didn't trust the man.

"We'll take care of them," the cowboy told them confidently and Daryl made scoffing noise.  
Nevertheless he let the Highwaymen lead his group inside the Sanctuary. Some of the men were guarding the entrances, while Daryl filled their leader in about everything they need to know.

"Okay, so these Whisperers are following you, that's why you don't want to go to the Kingdom," the leader concluded and Daryl nodded. He sat on the floor glancing suspiciously at the man in the hat.

"Then we should probably arrange a gathering for you and your people elsewhere," the man suggested.

"Would be the best idea," Daryl said and couldn't hide the annoyance in his voice as he saw how the man was eyeing Connie, who was sitting next to Daryl.

"Fine, I will take some of my men back and tell the King and Queen where to meet you."

Connie stood up and pointed at herself and then at the leader.

"You want to come with us?" The delight in the man's voice made Daryl angry all of the sudden.

"We will be more than pleased to escort you there" the man said. Then he took off his hat and bowed in Connie's direction.

That was enough, Daryl jumped up.

"There's no way in hell you're going to the Kingdom with Lucky Luke here," he told Connie furiously pointing at the surprised man. Connie was surprised too.

"We still don't know if we can trust them," Daryl explained then.

"But Daryl, they know everything about the Kingdom and it doesn't sound like they're lying," Henry said.  
When Daryl looked around he saw that everyone was on Henry's side. Even Connie who he considered to be good in reading people.

"Fine." Daryl sighed. "But we arrange a meeting point. They go to the Kingdom and will bring Carol and Ezekiel there," Daryl said. "And your sister." He added glancing at Connie.

It's was not the safest plan but at least they weren't endangering the Kingdom and the Fair that way. Everyone agreed.

The leader of the Highwayman left with his men but not before he took his hat off once again and bowed to Connie, who nodded and smiled.

Daryl rolled his eyes.  _What a jerk,_  he thought.

It was decided they would meet the people from the Kingdom in the evening, so the little group took some rest, guarded by the rest of the Highwaymen, who stayed with them.

Daryl was sitting with his back against the wall, thinking. He didn't like the plan, not at all. He didn't like those wannabe-cowboys and as sure as hell he didn't like their leader. Who was that jerk thinking he was? With that ridiculous hat and that oozy smile. Daryl also didn't like how he looked at Connie and how friendly Connie was towards him. Daryl hit his fist angrily against the wall behind him. No, he didn't like anything about the Highwaymen, but unfortunately they needed them right now.


	7. Rain

When they arrived at the meeting point, Connie watched Daryl nervously looking around. The others didn't arrive yet. Connie was nervous too, she was worried about the reunion with Kelly. She was certain, her sister wouldn't want her to leave without her. But what should she do? She couldn't leave Daryl with both kids behind and not only because it was her idea to bring Lydia along. Yes, she felt responsible for her, but she also just couldn't leave him… at all. And she knew Kelly would be safer with her friends, she didn't want to put her at risk too.  
Lost in her thoughts, Connie finally saw some riders in the distance.

When Carol, Ezekiel and Kelly arrived, Connie smiled at them and Carol smiled back, but her face was still very tense.  
Kelly and Connie walked off to talk in private.

Henry, who was still standing next to Lydia greeted his parents. Both of his parents gave him a tight embrace. Carol examined him closely and saw the bandage on his leg.

"Oh my god, are you hurt? Where were you?" And to Daryl: "What happened?"

Her voice was so stern that even Daryl felt uneasy.

"I guess Tara filled you in, regarding the Whisperers," he said cautiously.

Carol, who still had her arm around Henry's shoulder, answered:

"Yes she did. She told me everything and she told me about her too." She looked daggers at Lydia and Lydia retreated a little bit.

"Why is she with you?" Carol asked Daryl, who couldn't stop to feel uneasy about the situation.  
He knew Carol trusted him with her life and she trusted him with her sons life, which he had endangered.

"I know you're upset. But she's with us because she can't go back."

Carol was obviously annoyed.

"Well, if you want to move around with that girl, risking your lives, fine. But leave Henry out of it."

She turned to Henry and said: "Come on Henry, we're going back."

But Henry didn't move.

"Mom, I can't," he responded and moved away from her.

"Henry, what are you talking about? Of course you are coming back with us. You're hurt. I don't let you go with them."

"I said I can't." Henry paused for a moment, then continued, trying to pick the right words.

"Look mom, I love you and I know, you're worried. But I promised Lydia to protect her. I'm not leaving her." And seeing Carol's stern look he added: "And we're not alone."

Carol looked at Daryl who was just standing there in silence but she could read in his eyes that he wanted her to give in to Henry's pleads.

"No," she said firmly. "There's no way I let this happen. I want you to stop that nonsense and to come with us, now." The words sounded very loud.

Ezekiel softly touched her hand. He didn't say anything until now.

"Can we talk?" He asked his wife and both of them went a few steps away.

Henry gave Daryl a hopeful look and Daryl nodded, but he was still unsure about everything.

"What do you want to talk about?" Carol asked Ezekiel. "There's no way I'm letting him go with them."

"I understand your concern, my Queen, but listen me out," Ezekiel answered. "As much as I don't want to let young Henry go, as much do I know that he has deep feelings for that girl. Nothing will stop him from being with her."

Carol looked at Ezekiel like he had lost his mind.

"Nothing could stop me from being with you either," he added with a smile.

"But they are just kids, what do they know about feelings," Carol said, still not convinced.

"Not kids, young adults, whose first love is growing fast."

"He's fifteen years old, Ezekiel."

"Not much younger than Romeo was," Ezekiel said dreamily.

"Yes, and we know how the story ended," Carol said dryly. "No, we can't."

"We can't keep him in our nest forever either. One day he has to spread his wings and fly."

"And what if he falls?" There was sadness in Carol's voice and Ezekiel put his arm around her.

"Oh come on, it's not that he's alone with her out there. There will be Daryl and Connie. Both of them seem to be capable enough to protect him. They will give him the guidance he needs."

"But they are not his parents," Carol reminded him

"Maybe he doesn't need his parents right now."

Carol sighed. She knew there was no use to argue and that Ezekiel was probably right.

"Our boy will fly high in the sky and we will patiently wait for his return," Ezekiel said and pulled Carol closer to him.

"I hope it won't be too high or the sun will dazzle him," Carol answered with a sigh.

Then they walked back to Henry, Lydia and Daryl.

In the meantime Connie and Kelly were talking in sign language.

"What do you mean with 'I will be gone for a while'?'" Kelly asked her sister.

"At least take me with you," she added.

"I can't, it's too dangerous. You better stay at Hilltop with the others."

"Too dangerous for me but not for you? How can I let you go like that?"

"Don't worry about me. Someone will be my guardian angel for this journey." She pointed in Daryl's direction. "He will keep us safe. And I know too, how to protect myself."

Kelly looked sad, she didn't want to let her sister go, but knowing her stubbornness she knew it had no use to argue with her.

"And there's really no way you could take me with you?" She asked hopefully.

"I want you to stay with the others," Connie told her and added: "Please."

"Alright," Kelly said, still moping.

Connie lay her arms around her sister, hugging her. There were tears in her eyes and in Kelly was crying too.

"Please, take care," Kelly begged her and Connie nodded with a smile. They hugged each other again before they started to walk back towards the others.

When the Kingdomers rode off, the little group, accompanied by some of the Highwaymen, started to walk back, towards the Sanctuary. It was raining heavily and soon everyone was wet to the bones. They hid from the rain in one of the buildings on their way.  
Connie was standing next to Daryl and he saw that she was shivering. He took off his vest, put it around her shoulders and received a grateful smile. The vest was too big for her, but at least it was something to keep her warm. She moved closer to him and their hands touched accidentally. Then they stood in silence side by side, watching Lydia and Henry, who were trying to keep each other warm by hugging each other. Connie was still shivering and Daryl was too. He thought about putting his arms around her to warm her, like Henry did with Lydia, but he didn't dare. However, as she slightly moved closer to him and looked him in the eyes, he, being nervous as hell, finally put his arms around her. They were standing in the same position like earlier this day, her hand resting on his chest again. But this time there was no excuse for his heart beating so fast under her hand and he felt a little embarrassed. He could feel her soft breath against his neck. Her warm body in wet clothes was so close to his, and he could smell the scent of her hair. Suddenly he realized that it was becoming too much for him. Afraid, that his body would show her, without his intention, how much attracted he was to her, he slowly moved away. There was no way in hell he was going to let this happen. It was just the first time in so many years that he felt attracted to a woman like that. His face was heating up and turning red. He prayed she wouldn't be wondering why he moved away from her so suddenly, but even if he tried not to look at her, out of the corner of his eye, he could see a suspicious look on her face. It made him go hot and cold at the same time. He still hoped she didn't figure out how appealing he found her. What would she think of him? That he was some kind of a pervert? She didn't know him. She didn't know the last time he was so close to woman and felt these kinds of feelings, was endless years ago.

When the rain stopped, they walked back to the Sanctuary. The Highwaymen kept watch, so every member of the group could sleep. And all of them did, except for Daryl. He lay awake and all he could think of, was Connie.

Daryl never felt so awkward around women before, like he felt around her. His relationships with women were basically the same as they were with men. Yes, he admired them and besides being tough, there were other qualities he liked in them. Each of his female friends had a special trait he liked. Michonne, for example, teased him a lot, it annoyed and amused him at the same time. Beth was so innocent and pure and he admired her hopeful nature, back in the day, when she was still alive. Maggie and Rosita always said what they thought and always wanted to do the right thing. And Carol… Well, Carol was his best friend, she knew him almost better than he knew himself. He allowed himself to be vulnerable around her.

But all of them were just friends. Maybe good-looking friends, but still friends.

He never wanted to impress them or to flirt with them. He knew it would feel strange, if he did. Sure, sometimes he felt a little envious when he saw his friends being in love and sometimes he wondered how it would be, to have a relationship of his own, because it was an uncharted area for him. Sometimes he even asked himself if there was something wrong with him since he preferred to be a loner when almost everyone was in a relationship.

But Connie suddenly changed that and from one day to another there was a woman in his life, he wanted to be more than friends with.


	8. I Like You

_I like you._  Why was that so difficult to say? A couple of days had passed since their meet-up with the Kingdomers and Daryl realized that his feelings for Connie grew stronger and stronger each day. He could barely eat or sleep, it was like in a damn romance movie. He wanted to tell her, how he felt about her, and he knew the easiest way would be just to write it down on a note, but that wasn't personal enough. And didn't a simple 'I like you' sound childish? He wasn't still in High-school eventually. Not that he ever had a girlfriend in High-school. And for sure he felt like a High-school teenager who was in love for the first time.  
Every day he thought about how he would confess his feelings, imagining how he would do it and what he would say, even playing every detail through in his head. But he just couldn't come up with a better thing than 'I like you' and every time he saw Connie, his courage failed him.  
Daryl knew he had more than enough time to confess his feelings, though.  
They decided to stay together after all. They were still at the Sanctuary and the Highwaymen proved themselves as nice fellas, who helped them and with who Daryl could joke around sometimes. Maybe that was it, maybe that was how they would spend the rest of their lives. The thought that he and Connie would probably spend their whole life together gave Daryl butterflies.  
But what if they just stayed friends? No, Daryl didn't want that. The first time in his life he was sure, this wouldn't be enough for him. He wanted more. He wanted something Glenn and Maggie had, Rick and Michonne, Carol and Ezekiel.. His heart almost ached at the thought of how much he wanted to have this with Connie. But what would Connie think, when she learned she was his first girlfriend? Wasn't that embarrassing? She was more experienced in that kind of matter for sure. And would she want it at all? She was attracted to him, he was almost certain, but what if he was wrong about that? No, he wasn't brave enough to tell her how he felt, not yet at least.

Connie was thinking about Daryl a lot too and every night when she went to sleep, she could see his his face before her inner eye. She was almost certain he liked her, not only felt attracted to her, but really liked her. His body language, the way he looked and smiled to her, the way he held her in his arms. Everything told her that. It was obvious. And the way how jealous he became, when they first met the Highwaymen, proved it even more. It was cute, childish, but still very cute. He would fight for her for sure.  
She liked him too. Liked him a lot. She had several relationships before, but most of them didn't end well. After her last relationship she started to enjoy being single and not being bossed around all the time. But Daryl was so different to all the men she had been with in her life and that was good. He was loyal, protective, had a good heart and he was very attentive.  
She found it a bit frustrating though, that he didn't open up about his feelings yet.  
Connie knew there was something there, but she longed to see him telling it to her.  
She was already teaching him some ASL and thought about teaching him the sign for 'I like you' Maybe she just should have done it during their last lesson, but somehow she was too embarrassed and this was something unusual for her too.

It was in the middle of the night and Connie tried to sleep, thinking that they had enough time for confessing their feelings to each other. So she fell asleep with Daryl as the last thought on her mind.

The next morning, when Daryl woke up he couldn't find Connie or Dog. He asked Lydia and Henry about them, but both of them said they didn't have seen them. He went outside, and asked the men who were guarding the gates, but they didn't have seen them either. Daryl was starting to worry. How could they both have disappeared, without anyone noticing that? He decided to leave the Sanctuary and search the surroundings.

"Let us go with you," Henry said to him, but Daryl shook his head.

"Nah, you stay here." He turned to the both men guarding the gates: "You too," he told them. "I'll be back soon."

It didn't take him long to find a trace. There were footsteps, clearly Connie's, because Dogs paw prints were right beside them. But then they changed. There were many of Dog's paw prints in a big circle and then they disappeared and Daryl could see another pair of footsteps, which were clearly much bigger than Connie's.

Did they encounter a walker? Daryl could also see blood on the ground and the blood in his own body turned cold. Something must have definitely happened to them. But why were they out here alone?

Soon he found the reason why. Under a bush he discovered a white peace of paper and as he took it in his hand, he read:

_Meet me in the woods. Come alone._

_\- Daryl_

What? This couldn't be. This wasn't even his handwriting. Somebody must have lured Connie out here. And somebody clearly wanted him to know that. Daryl's heart was racing and his hands began to shake. Something awful must have happened to Connie.

He moved quickly, following the footsteps. Soon he saw something.

Dog, his loyal friend, was lying on the ground. Blood wetting his fur. However, even if he didn't stand up, he was still breathing and he whined a little when he saw Daryl.

"Oh buddy, what happened?" Daryl asked softly, feeling tears forming in his eyes. And then there was a wave of anger. He was ready to kill, to slowly kill anyone whoever has done this to his beloved friend and who took Connie. With his crossbow up and with rage on his face he continued to follow the footsteps. And then finally...

It was like a nightmare and Daryl wished he could wake from it, but he couldn't. Beta was standing there, still alive, holding a knife to Connie's throat. Daryl was overwhelmed by fear and anger.

"Let her go," Daryl murmured between his teeth angrily.

"No," Beta said simply.

"You'll watch her die. You'll watch the others die too. I will kill you last."

Daryl felt helpless, the fear of losing Connie made his head spin. He knew he could try and shoot Beta but what if he hurt Connie?

"C'mon, it's me you want," Daryl said finally, trowing his crossbow to the side and putting his hands up in the air.

"No, it's me," Daryl heard Lydia's voice behind him. He could also see Henry sneaking up behind Beta and slightly shook his head but Henry didn't want to notice that. Connie wanted to shake her head also, to tell Lydia to go back, but the knife was tightly pressed to her throat.

"I will run away again, if you don't come and get me," Lydia continued. "And Alpha won't be pleased at all."

Daryl had a hard time to watch this and don't say anything. But he decided that Henry was his best chance and he couldn't stop him anyway. Maybe if Henry hit Beta from behind, he would surprise him and Daryl could safe Connie.

_And then what?_

Didn't matter, Daryl knew he would fight Beta even if this would be a battle of life and death. He had to save the others.

"Come and get me, asshole," Lydia still teased Beta who was noticeably losing his patience.

Beta threw Connie on the ground and she fell so hard that she lost her consciousness. Daryl made a move in her direction, but Beta pointed with his big knife towards Daryl. In this moment Henry was close enough and hit Beta's head with his stick. Beta was surprised, but he was still standing. He grabbed Henry's stick and while Henry was still holding on to it, Beta pushed it towards Henry's chin. The stick hit Henry so hard, that he fell on the ground and remained lying down, motionless. In that moment Daryl came running towards Beta, trying to tackle him down, but it didn't work this time. Beta was like a tower of strength. He punched Daryl in the face so hard, that Daryl fell backwards, blood splattering out of his nose. Daryl tried to get up, but Beta was over him already, chocking him.

"Alright, then you first," he told him with a grin. Daryl was hitting Beta's arms, but it didn't make Beta let go of him. His grip became even stronger and there was still a big grin on his face. Daryl started to feel dizzy and it became harder and harder for him to struggle against Beta's grip.

_That's it,_ Daryl thought  _I'm g_ _onna_ _die._


	9. Guardian Angel

Connie woke up early in the morning and wanted to get some fresh air, Dog followed her happily outside. It was a nice morning, the sun was shining in the unclouded sky. Something caught Dog's attention and he ran off. Connie followed him, to see what it was. Dog was facing a hole in the fence, behind the Sanctuary building, growling and Connie found a note on the ground. She was almost certain that something wasn't right as she saw "Daryl's" note. She was wondering why it was lying there since she saw Daryl still sleeping this morning. Maybe he wrote it but then decided against giving it to her? Sure, she could imagine, why he wanted to be alone with her for a moment, but would he be so careless to let her go into the woods all by herself? No, that didn't sound like Daryl and it didn't look like his handwriting either. She already wanted to go back and show the note to him as Dog moved closer to the fence and slipped through the hole in it. Not able to call him back, Connie decided to follow him. She knew, how sad Daryl would be, if Dog ran off and never came back. So Connie made her way through the hole in the fence too, following Dog, who ran off into the woods.  
They encountered Beta soon. Dog attacked him, but Beta fought him off with his knife and then grabbed Connie, dragging her further into the woods.

Connie opened her eyes and felt a numb pain in her skull. She touched her head and noticed a wet spot there. She knew it was blood. She still felt dizzy and had to focus. Then she saw Beta with his hands on Daryl's throat, trying to choke him. She got up instantly and took a stone into her hand.  
Still fighting against the dizziness and as cautiously as possible, she sneaked up on Beta and hit the stone firmly against his head. Beta let go of Daryl for a moment who used the remained strength he had to punch Beta in the face. Beta's head made a movement backwards and Daryl was able, to push him down from him. Out of the corner of his eye Daryl saw a walker approaching Henry, who was still unconscious. He made a movement towards Henry with his hand telling Connie to help Henry.  
Connie, who was standing right behind Beta and ready to help Daryl fighting him, saw Henry and ran to him.  
Lydia was fighting two walkers in the meantime.  
Daryl and Beta, both of them still on all fours, exchanged a look and there was nothing but hate in it.  
Connie took the walker out, who tried to attack Henry and tried to wake him. Then she saw a knife flashing in the sunlight and almost got stabbed by a Whisperer, but avoided the knife skillfully and shot the Whisperer with her slingshot. Henry finally woke up.  
Daryl and Beta both stood up, Beta getting out his knives again, like during their first encounter.  
Daryl looked at him, than took out the gun he still had with him since the farmhouse, and shot Beta.

"Bad idea to bring knives to a gunfight, asshole," he said, scoffing.

The fight still wasn't over. A few Whisperers and a couple of walkers surrounded them

Despite their injuries, Daryl, Connie and Henry were fighting back to back. Lydia was also fighting with them this time.  
They were able to finish all of their enemies off and then they were all catching their breath. Daryl was still holding his aching throat as he looked at Connie who was looking at him in concern. He told her, he was alright asked her, if she was okay. Blood was already drying on her temple. She looked at Daryl, whose face also looked bad and nodded slightly. Then they suddenly saw Dog coming towards them. Dog was limping and stopped for a moment, to lick his wound. Daryl ran to him and hugged his four legged friend.  
"Good boy," he said petting Dog happily. Connie came towards them an petted Dog too. She was happy to see Dog alive. She and Daryl exchanged a look and then they fell each other in the arms. Holding each other tightly, they realized how close they have been to losing one another.

Daryl's heart was filled with happiness when he was holding Connie. This time it didn't feel awkward at all. He was joyful and relieved and he was almost crying. Life had taken so many people away from him, at least it let him keep Connie. He embraced her even tighter and promised himself to never let her go.

Connie didn't know exactly why she was crying. She didn't cry often, but this time she couldn't hold back her tears. Daryl's embrace felt so warm and comfortable and she wished she could stay forever in his arms. She realized she loved him deeply. Loved him like she probably never loved a man before in her life. Protective sweet Daryl, rough on the outside but soft on the inside, she knew nothing in the world would make her ever let go of him. She found something in him, she never even thought she was looking for and she was determined to keep it forever.

As they walked back, Daryl's arm was around Connie's shoulder. She wrote  _Guardian angel_ on her notepad and showed it to him, pointing at him.

"No, that's you. You are mine" He said and Connie smiled.

No one of the group knew what happened in the last couple of days. They didn't realize that the battle they just won, was only a beginning of a big war. And that they would have a lot of battles like this. They were just happy to be together. To be a family. All of them against the world.


	10. A Quiet Moment

When Connie woke up, her head was resting on Daryl's chest. Daryl was still sleeping. It was early in the morning, but rays of sunlight already made their way into the Sanctuary building. Connie remembered how they came back the day before, exhausted. She recalled that she patched Dog up, who was now sleeping soundly. She also remembered how Daryl was looking over her shoulder with anxiety, while she was treating Dog's cutting wound. She was so glad, Dog made it after all… that all of them made it. They were so tired the day before and after eating something, all of them almost instantly fell asleep on the floor, which was covered with blankets and pillows, they found inside the building. Harry and Nate, two of the Highwaymen who were still with them, agreed to take another shift at guarding the Sanctuary, while the little group was resting.

Connie watched Daryl sleeping for a while, with a smile on her lips. A lot happened yesterday, a lot of terrifying things mostly, but she tried to think about the better moments. About how Daryl was holding her tight in his arms after the fight, like he never wanted to let her go. How they were walking back and Daryl's arm was resting on her shoulder. She remembered his concerned look, when he saw she was hurt and how he carefully treated the wound on her head, when they came back.

Her head was still aching, but the pain was bearable. She stood up and went outside. It was another nice day, still warm even if it was almost winter. She breathed in, closed her eyes and enjoyed the fresh breeze. There was so much happiness in her heart. She felt alive and ready for everything to come. After a couple of minutes Daryl came outside too, yawning and stretching his arms out.

"Hey," he said to Connie and did a salute movement with his hand. Connie was pleased to see he remembered the ASL sign for "Hello" she once showed him. She greeted him with a smile.

There was a moment of silence when they were standing there in front of each other, not knowing what to do next. Connie wanted to tell him so many things, but she didn't even know where to start and she could see in his eyes, he felt exactly the same. She didn't know why she was shy like a High-School girl. Despite her handicap she never had a problem with approaching men and showing them how she felt. But being with Daryl was something new and different.  
She was studying his face, wondering how it would be like to kiss him.  
Then she took her notepad out, but before she could write something, Henry and Lydia came out of the building, still a little bit sleepy.

"A nice morning," Lydia remarked and Henry nodded.

"After yesterday we can consider us lucky to have another one of those," he said.

"Yeah", said Daryl absently, he was still looking at Connie and she wondered, if he was thinking about kissing her too.

"I'm so sorry," Lydia said. "That's all because of me."

"No," Henry objected, "it's not. We're in this together, remember? And if some of them will show up again, we'll show them!."

Lydia smiled a sad smile and said nothing.

Connie patted Lydia's shoulder. She was glad they were together, even if she wished for a private moment with Daryl.

She wrote  _Breakfast?_ On her notepad and everyone agreed.

They didn't posses much food, so they ate the apples they collected several days ago for breakfast, enjoying every bit.

"We should fix that damn fence," Daryl said while chewing his apple.

"And we need to secure the place more in case more of 'em assholes are comin'"

Connie wrote:  _What about f_ _ood?_

"Yeah, that too," Daryl said pointing at the notepad with his finger.

"I'll go hunting and we could check the surroundings for supplies."

Lydia and Henry were hardly listening. They were holding hands, whispering to each other and giggling.

"Harry and Nate must be tired, we should take their shift over," Henry suddenly suggested.

"Good idea," Daryl said, giving Henry two apples for the guards.

Henry took Lydia's hand and they went outside. Connie watched them. It was obvious, they wanted to spend some time alone and now she finally got a quiet moment with Daryl too. Again they were staring at each other not knowing what to say. Should they have a conversation or should she just take his face in her hands and kiss him? Connie couldn't decide and then the moment was over. Harry and Nate came in, eating their apples and talking loudly. The quiet moment was over too soon.  
Nate proposed to help them searching the building for things they could use.

"You don't wanna rest?" Daryl asked surprised.

"I'm not tired. Don't need much sleep either," Nate answered.

"Alright."

Additional help was good, however Connie couldn't help but feel disappointed, that she couldn't be alone with Daryl.  
They all went searching the place. The building was like a big haunted house. They could hear the sound of the wind whistling through the broken windows and as they went deeper into the building they had to get out their flashlights, because it was too dark. One time Connie almost tripped, but Daryl caught her and they exchanged a smile.  
Daryl led the way, he was headed to the pantry. He knew they probably wouldn't find anything there, but it was worth a try. When they came to the storage rooms, they saw some of the shelves were broken and lying on the floor. Daryl gave Nate his flashlight before he tried to lift a big shelf which was in their way.

"You need help with that, Bro?" Nate asked him, but Daryl said no.

"I got this," he told him with a strained voice. He succeeded in lifting the shelf a little bit, but then he realized it was too heavy, so he had to drop it again. The shelf fell with a loud sound on the floor. The fall was so heavy, that another shelf, which was standing next to Daryl, shook a little bit. A bucket of white paint standing on that shelf fell down, covering Daryl's right shoulder with paint.

"Damn it," Daryl cursed, trying to brush the paint off his shoulder with his hand. Be he only made it worse and his hand was now covered in paint too. Connie giggled when she saw that. If he wanted to impress her with his strength, it definitely backfired. Daryl seemed to have learned from it. He asked Nate to help and they both were able to lift the shelf this time. The pantry was almost empty, the shelves were covered in spider webs and dust. Daryl only found a can of pickles and after he inspected it with the help of his flashlight, he grimaced.

"Guess no one's gonna eat that."

Connie picked up two bottles of whine she saw on the floor and showed them to him with a grin.

"Yeah at least we can get lit when things go to shit again," Daryl said. They went through a couple of other rooms, but didn't find anything, so they went back. After that Nate finally decided to get a short nap.

Daryl and Connie went outside where they saw Henry and Lydia kissing. Connie looked at Daryl and saw how his face turned slightly red as he noticed her look. He cleared his throat.

"Come down here, Romeo," he told Henry. And to Connie he said:

"I'll go get some boards with him to fix the fence. Can you take watch with Lydia?"

_Sure._ Connie wrote. And then:  _I'm glad you have some help. In case some evil paint buckets will try to attack you again._  She grinned

"Funny," Daryl said, still a little bit embarrassed about the incident, but grinning too. He gave her a little touch on the shoulder.

When Daryl and Henry were gathering some boards, Lydia came to them. She whispered something in Henry's ear and Henry nodded. Then she quickly kissed him and ran away again. Daryl was looking at him, confused, but Henry only shrugged and they went to the fence to fix the hole.

"Connie really seems to like you," Henry said suddenly.

"I guess she does." Daryl smiled.

"You like her too?"

Daryl looked at Henry and nodded.

"That's great!" Henry shout out enthusiastically and Daryl couldn't stop to smile.

"Okay, this will hold," Daryl said then when they finished.

"Com' on. I wanna go outside. Check the surroundings."

Henry was glad Daryl wanted him as backup, so he happily followed him to the gate.

"We go outside." Daryl told Connie and Lydia. He pointed at the gate with one hand hand while he was shielding his eyes against the low sun with his other hand. He could see that Connie was frowning.

"Don't worry, we'll be back soon, just checking the surroundings," he assured them.

Daryl and Henry went outside, They looked for tracks of other Whisperers, who could have come to spy on them, but they didn't find anything.  
In the woods nearby they saw a rabbit and Daryl shot it. After that he told Henry they should go back.

"Don't you want to look around a bit more?"

"Nah, it'll be dark soon," Daryl answered. He collected the rabbit and they went back.

When they came back, Harry and Nate were on watch again. Daryl and Henry walked into the building and they only saw Dog, who was still resting. He lifted his head when he sensed them. Daryl approached him and petted his head. Dog licked his hand and it appeared he was on the way to recover. Daryl looked around, but couldn't see Connie or Lydia anywhere.

Where were they? Daryl started to worry. He thought about the day before, how Connie disappeared and how it all ended, and his anxiety increased. It seemed like she was gone again.


	11. First Date

Daryl called Lydia's name, but nobody answered. He looked at Henry, who didn't seem to be worried at all. This made Daryl suspicious

"Where are they?" He asked. Henry shrugged and said he doesn't know. But when he saw that Daryl was still looking at him in disbelief, he finally sighed and admitted:

"They're fine. They're just preparing something."

"And why didn't you tell me that right away?" Daryl asked a little bit annoyed.

"I promised not to," Henry answered sheepishly. When he saw Daryl narrowing his eyes in confusion, he added:

"It's for you. Connie said something about a ... first date?"

Daryl's eyes widened and he was blushing.

"She really seems to like you." Henry grinned.

Daryl felt how his heart started to beat faster and he didn't know what to say.  
They sat down and waited. Daryl was extremely nervous. He still didn't completely realize yet, that Connie wanted to be with him. But what if this date would change her mind? What if he was awful, what if he screwed up? He never had a date before in his life. And what if she wanted to kiss him? God, he didn't kiss a woman in a long time. He couldn't even remember the last time it happened. It was never important to him. During his short encounters with women, he was usually so drunk he couldn't even remember their faces the next day, let alone their names. He didn't think much about kissing back then. The only reason he let those women come close to him, was because he wanted to impress his brother. But this now with Connie was different. This was important. This was something real.  
So he sat there feeling like a teenager until Connie and Lydia appeared at the balcony on the second floor. While Lydia went down the stairs, Connie motioned to Daryl to come up to her. Daryl stood up and walked towards the stairs, a little bit insecure. Lydia smiled at him, when they passed each other. When Daryl arrived at the second floor, Connie took his hand and went with him into a room next to the stairs. It was a cozy, nice little room. However, Daryl couldn't help but think it must have belonged to one of Negan's loyal soldiers. Having his first date at the Sanctuary out of all places was weird, especially since he was tortured here several years ago. But Connie didn't know anything about that and it seemed she made a great effort to create a romantic atmosphere. There were some candles and the table in the middle of the room was neatly set, almost like in a restaurant. The bottle of wine, they found at the pantry earlier, was standing on the table too. Daryl smiled. He frantically tried to remember a sign in ASL to tell her how nice all of this was, but couldn't think of anything at the moment.

Connie made a sign with her hand, telling Daryl to sit down. When they both sat down at the table, Daryl was glancing at her nervously.  
She poured some wine and they clinked their glasses. The wine had a bitter taste, but Daryl was glad about the alcohol. Maybe it would make him more confident. He didn't intend to get completely drunk, though. He wanted to stay clear in his head and enjoy every moment with Connie.

_Let's eat,_ Connie wrote on her notepad and Daryl nodded. He thought it was good to get something into his stomach with all the wine. Their dinner consisted of some smoked fish. Daryl tried to eat slowly and not to bolt the food, like he usually did. It wasn't hard since he was still very nervous and couldn't eat much.  
Daryl knew, Connie must have noticed how nervous he was, and she confirmed that when she took out her notepad and wrote:

_Don't be nervous._

"I'm trying," Daryl said. "It has been so long since..." He paused looking embarrassed at her, too afraid to admit it was his first date.

_For me too,_  she wrote and showed him the note with a smile.

After they finished eating, they went to the sofa nearby and sat down next to each other. They sat in silence again, their legs touching slightly. After he drunk up his glass of wine, Daryl took Connie's one hand in his both hands, and caressed it softly with his thumb. They looked each other in the eyes. After the wine Daryl really started to feel more confident.

"You know, actually this is my first date... ever," Daryl admitted making a slight pause before the word "ever". He could see the surprise in Connie's eyes and continued:

"Never been much of a dating person."

Connie wrote:  _That's okay. I'm pleased to be the first._

They both were smiling at each other and then Daryl put his arm around her shoulder and she snuggled up on his chest. Some minutes passed when they were just enjoying being close to each other. When she looked up to him, he asked her:

"So you were born this way? Deaf?"

_Yes, my parents found out when I was a baby,_ she wrote.

_They didn't live long and when they died I took care of my sister._

Daryl nodded.

_Tell me something about you,_ Connie wrote.

"There's no much to tell," Daryl said feeling insecure again.

"Spent most of my life with my brother too."

_Rick?_  Connie asked.

"No. Rick was my brother, but he wasn't blood. I met him when all of this started. No, I had another brother, Merle." Daryl made a pause.

"He was an asshole," Daryl added then in a loving voice.

"And then another asshole came and killed him."

_I'm sorry,_ Connie replied.  _The world is full of assholes._

"Yeah, we encountered a lot. Lost a lot of people 'cause of 'em."

_We did too. But at least we found each other._

"Yeah, we did." Daryl smiled. "And I'm happy about it."

_B_ _ecause you like me?_  Connie wrote, then showed him the note with anticipation in her eyes.

Daryl felt butterflies in his stomach and after a little pause he said: "I do"

Connie made a sign and then wrote on her notepad:  _This means I like you too_. She repeated the sign.

Maybe it was the wine, or her eyes, or here smile, but in a sudden twinge of courage Daryl asked:

"And how do I say: 'I love you'?'"

Before he even fully realized what he asked just now, she smiled, then she took his face in her hands and kissed him.  
The kiss didn't last long and after that they both looked each other in the eyes and smiled.  
Then they approached each other for another kiss, but right in that moment, Lydia suddenly burst into the room.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," she said breathing heavily from running. "But you have to come. People from the Kingdom are here. They said something happened."


	12. Loss

Daryl instantly knew something very bad must have happened when he saw the grave look on Carol's face. She was accompanied by two of the Highwaymen, who had sad looks on their faces too, Henry was standing next to Carol with tears in his eyes and Lydia seemed to feel lost and out of place.

"What happened?" Daryl asked frowning.

Carol gave Lydia a severe look before she answered.

"They came to the fair." Carol's lips were only a thin line, when she paused.

"They were looking for her and killed several of our people."

Daryl shuddered and went pale. Connie, who was reading Carol's lips, approached her and wrote My sister? in a shaky handwriting.  
She showed the note to Carol, then put her palms together like she was begging Carol to tell her Kelly was alright.  
But she could read the answer in Carol's eyes, before Carol said:

"I'm sorry."

The notepad slipped out of Connie's shaking hands, she was starring at Carol in shock, tears filling her eyes. Daryl came closer and wanted to comfort her.

"Hey," he said almost inaudible and tried to touch Connie's shoulder. But she suddenly span around and ran away. Daryl followed her with his eyes and decided to give her a moment alone, before going after her. Instead he turned to Carol and asked:

"Who else?" He could feel anger and sadness rising in him.

"Several of the Highwaymen. Tammy and two kids from Hilltop. Siddiq… Rosita." She made a pause again. "Jerry."

Daryl let the names sink in for a moment becoming more and more outraged.

"Damn it," he shouted out loud and hit his fist hard against the wall. He felt pain, but it didn't stop him from hitting his fist against the wall again and again.  
Losing people again, especially kids and Rosita, who was pregnant made him go mad. Connie's sister who meant so much to her and Jerry who was always so good-tempered and had a big family of his own. Daryl hit the wall until Carol put her hand above his arm.

"Stop it, Daryl," she told him firmly.

His fist was bloody and he tried hard to hold down his tears.

"We need you back at the Kingdom," Carol said then a bit softer. "This conflict… It could lead to a war."

"This never stops, does it?" Daryl said gloomily.

"I guess it doesn't."

Daryl sighed.

"Henry, Lydia, pack your things, we're leaving," he told them both and they started packing the few things they possessed.

Carol took Daryl to the side.

"You know we can't take her with us," she told him. "She's one of them, maybe she's even the reason why..."

"She's one of us now." Daryl cut her so abruptly that Carol was surprised. He didn't have spoken to her in that tone of voice in a long time.  
They stood a bit afar, but Lydia could still hear their conversation.

"Look, it ain't her fault," Daryl said in a calmer voice. "She'll fight with us. She already did once."

"We can't let her into the Kingdom. Not after what her people did to our friends."

"The girl stays," said Daryl repeating what Connie once wrote to him when he had the same concerns as Carol had now.

"You're letting your guard down, letting her into your heart." Carol tried to convince him, but Daryl didn't want to listen, he had enough of the discussion.  
He knew Carol couldn't know, that the four of them became very close in the last couple of days, almost like a family, and he would explain it to her, but it had to wait.

"I have to find Connie," he said then.

The kids were finished with packing.

"We meet you outside," Daryl said, looking at Lydia and Henry and then back to Carol.

"All of you."

Carol knew he had his principles and did whatever he thought was right. It had no use to argue any longer right now.

When Daryl passed Lydia, she whispered a shy "Thank you" and he nodded.

Daryl found Connie in one of the rooms nearby. She was sitting on the floor, knees to her chest. She was embracing her knees and her face was hidden in her arms.

Daryl sat down next to her. He didn't say anything and didn't touch her. It hurt his heart to see her sad like that and he was close to tears too, thinking about the people he lost… again. She must have sensed his presence, she looked up, her eyes puffy from crying and he took her into his arms. She was still crying and he was slowly rocking her back and forth in his arms, patting her back and comforting her.

After some time had passed, he helped her to stand up and they two went to the gate.

The group rode in silence, everyone caught up in their own thoughts and grief.

Connie was devastated. She couldn't believe Kelly was dead. She felt guilty. Her head was aching from all the crying. Daryl was sitting next to her with his arm around her and her head was resting on his shoulder. She knew, she would completely break down without him. She went through so much and of course lost people along the way, but with Kelly it was too much. She didn't know how to go on, knowing her sister died and she wasn't even there when it happened.

Connie never had been to the Kingdom before, only heard about it. She knew they wanted to have a fair there and that people in Hilltop were planing to go. She was looking forward to this back then. She couldn't wait to meet new people and to enjoy the little festive activities in the middle of the apocalypse. But then everything turned out differently.

She still didn't regret going after Henry with Daryl and that they took Lydia along. The girl wasn't responsible for the actions of her family and she needed her help. Connie just wished she would have taken Kelly with her. She remembered their last conversation, how Kelly begged her to take her along. How badly she wished now, she would have given in and taken her with them. Tears were running down her cheeks again and Daryl saw that. He didn't say anything, just pulled her closer to him and Connie was thankful for his presence and comfort.

When they arrived at the Kingdom it was morning already. There was a strange feeling of emptiness inside the walls, which didn't match the festive decoration. There were booths everywhere and colorful flags. It looked almost like a fair before the apocalypse. But the people they saw, all had grave expressions on their faces and Connie couldn't see anyone talking. She caught sight of Yumiko and Magna, who came running to her as soon as they saw her. They both hugged her and both had tears in their eyes as they told her, how sorry they were. Magna even fell on her knees before her. They thought she blamed them, but Connie didn't, she knew they would have done everything to keep Kelly safe. Connie was searching with her eyes for Luke, who wasn't with them.

"He was with Kelly, when she..." Yumiko's voice broke.

"He was hurt badly by those bastards, but he's still alive," Magna said then. "He's at the infirmary."

Connie turned around to Daryl, who was standing behind her and he nodded. She let Yumiko and Magna lead her to the infirmary.  
Luke was lying in one of the beds, he was very pale, but awake. His face lit up a little bit when he saw Connie, but then there was a lot of grief and pain in it. Connie fell on her knees before his bed hiding her face in her hands, when another wave of grief shook her. She was crying and Luke was patting her head. With the loss of her sister her world crumbled and Connie felt like it would never be better again.


	13. Unfinished Business

When everyone went away, only Daryl and Carol were still standing near the front gate.

"Tell me what happened. How they died," Daryl said to her.

Carol was silent for a moment and looked at him, like she tried to read in his eyes, if he really was ready to hear it. He noticed that and nodded.

"Everyone arrived here and the fair was going well. But then those people... those Whisperers were able to lure several of our people away. We still don't know how it happened and what happened exactly. We only saw Luke suddenly walking through the Kingdom with a stabbing wound in his side. He said 'it was them' before he collapsed. Then we noticed that someone must have killed the guards and taken their places during the fair. Also several people were missing. When we went out to look for them, we found them not far from here. Their heads… they put their heads... on pikes."

Daryl's eyes widened in shock, he breathed in heavily.

"What?" He asked. He couldn't believe that.

Carol looked at him.

"Yes, that's what they did. Those Whisperers, they were still standing there. Their leader, Alpha, the mother of the girl I suppose, demanded to bring her daughter to her and when we said we don't know who that is, she told us, she will kill her and anyone close to her when she sees her again. She also told us that the pikes are the border to their territory and anyone, who will cross it, will die."

Daryl was starring into space, trying to process what he just heard. They experienced a lot of sick shit already, but this was by far the worst.

"Do you understand now what kind of a danger the girl is?" Carol asked.

Daryl looked at her and then at Lydia, who was standing next to Henry in the distance.

"And what do you want me to do? Hand her over to people who will kill her?"

"Well, you did it once, didn't you? I've heard the story. You did it to save the community, that was right."

"Things have changed. I ain't giving her up."

Carol didn't say anything but the look on her face still showed disagreement.

"Look, they don't know she's here, right? We don't cross their border they don't cross ours, ain't that the deal? They won't see her by the border. And better don't let anyone else going there too."

"Well, some people want to go there and I'm afraid we can't stop them."

Daryl frowned and Carol sighed.

"We weren't able to retrieve the heads from the pikes with the Whisperers still being there."

"They're still there?"

"Yes and Earl, Gabriel and a couple of others want to go out there and bring them back."

Daryl thought about it for a moment.

"Alright. I go with 'em."

Carol wanted to protest but Daryl continued:

"They want closure. I get that. I'll make sure they get it."

Carol was inspecting Daryl's face very closely before she said:

"You would do anything for her, wouldn't you?"

Daryl was confused about Carol's words and also about that faint smile touching her lips.

"She's just an abused girl, who doesn't have anyone else," he answered.

"I wasn't talking about her." Carol was still smiling and before Daryl could say something she continued:

"I have to find Ezekiel. He's still crushed because of Jerry. Please be careful out there."

She hugged him before she went off.

Daryl saw Connie coming out of the infirmary with her friends and approached her. He hesitated when he was standing in front of her and saw Magna and Yumiko watching him and Connie closely. But both of them must have sensed that they needed a moment alone, so they went off. Daryl took Connie into his arms.

After holding her tight for a moment, he carefully loosened the embrace. He didn't know how to say it and he also didn't know, if Connie knew the whole terrifying story. But he was determined to do anything, so she would finally find closure.

"You ain't gonna like this, but I've to go out there again."

_I'm coming with..._ She started to write but he stopped her, softly taking her hand in his.

"No. Not this time," he said quietly. He saw the protest in her eyes.

"I need you to stay here. Take care of Lydia and Dog. I'll be back soon"

_Where are you going?_ She wrote then.

"Just taking care of some unfinished business out there," he said, evasive.

"Don't worry," he added as he saw the concerned look on her face. "I won't be alone and we ain't intending to get into a fight."

_I can't take it to lose you too._ She wrote then, tears pouring out of her eyes. Daryl felt a sting in his heart.

"You won't, I promise." He said and kissed her tenderly. It was hard for him to leave her even if it wasn't for long, but he had to do this.

A little group gathered together at the gate, consisting of Daryl, Michonne, Gabriel, Earl and Tara.

Daryl was surprised to see Michonne at the Kingdom.

"I knew this was a bad idea," Michonne told him quietly when they hugged.

"And still you're here." Daryl smiled.

"Yeah." The exchanged a meaningful look.

In the last moment Ezekiel came to them, saying he will accompany them.

"You sure about that?" Daryl asked him, knowing how hard it must be for him, to see Jerry's head on a pike.

"Yes. It's something I have to do."

Daryl nodded and they left the Kingdom.

It didn't take them long to get to the border.

The sight of the heads on the pikes was even more shocking than Daryl would have ever expected.  
He felt nauseous, it was more gruesome than anything he had seen in his life.  
In the distance there were a couple of silhouettes who looked like walkers, but Daryl knew there had to be Whisperers with them too.

He looked around, and saw that everyone was in shock. Gabriel and Tara were crying, Ezekiel also seemed to fight against tears. Michonne was only starring at the pikes with shock and anger written on her face.

"Okay, let's take 'em down," Daryl said.

Earl, who was standing in the background, suddenly ran to the pike with Tammy's head on. He collapsed before it, crying and wrapping his arms around the pike. Daryl could see the silhouettes in the field approaching slowly. He motioned to the others to get to work quickly.

When they got the heads of their beloved people down from the pikes, they put them on the wagon, covering them with a white plane.

Daryl had the Whisperers always in his view and he was glad they didn't stop them from removing the heads from the pikes.

They were about to leave, but then Earl ran out into the field, crossing the border.

"Earl!" Daryl and Michonne shouted, but he wasn't listening.

"I'll kill you bastards! You sick bastards! What did you do to my Tammy?!" He was running towards the Whisperers, who were coming closer to him.

Daryl and Michonne exchanged a look and ran after him, telling the others to stay back. They caught Earl right in front of the Whisperers. There were three of them and they had their knives out, ready to attack.

"Daryl stood in front of Earl and Michonne was trying to hold Earl back.

"Look, we don't want any conflict," Michonne told the Whisperers.

"They crossed the border," the people in the masks whispered. "Kill them."

"Take him back," Daryl shouted to Michonne who was still holding Earl back. Earl wouldn't listen, trying to get to the Whisperers, so Michonne had to knock him out and drag him back to the border. Daryl took out his knives. He was able to kill one of the Whisperers instantly, but another one attacked him and cut him slightly into the shoulder while Daryl was dodging an attack from the third one.

_I can't lose you too._  Connie's words were spinning in his head. No, he couldn't let this happen, he couldn't let the Whisperers kill him. He was fighting, dodging the attacks and finally took out the second Whisperer. The third one almost stabbed him in the back, but then Daryl suddenly saw the head of the Whisperer rolling on the ground and Michonne standing there with her sword up. He nodded thankfully to to her.

After eating something with Lydia and feeding Dog, Connie went back to see Luke again. She wanted to know what exactly happened to her sister. It was difficult for him to talk about it and he also wanted to spare her all the details. But Connie insisted and so he told her everything. Hearing about the pikes was gut-wrenching for her and she had to run to the bathroom because hearing that made her sick. When Luke finished the story, she was in shock and she couldn't see anything around her. When she went outside to get some fresh air and let Luke get some rest, a sudden thought crossed her mind. She suddenly knew why Daryl went out there again and what the "unfinished business" was, that he was talking about. She couldn't hold back her tears, feeling thankful and worried at once.

It was beginning to get dark and Daryl still wasn't back. Connie was so worried, she was pacing up and down in front of the gate.

Carol came to her and Connie could see the worried look on Carol's face too, even if she tried to smile.

"I'm sorry about your sister," Carol said and Connie nodded thankfully.

_I'm sorry about your people too._ She wrote.

They both stood in silence for a moment.

"I told Daryl already, that I'm not happy you brought Lydia here." Carol said finally.

Connie gave her an apologizing look. She wanted to write something, but Carol stopped her.

"No, it's okay. Even if I don't agree with you both about the girl, I'm very grateful you kept Henry safe and brought him back here. Maybe it was good that he wasn't here when all of it happened."

Connie's lips moved to a faint smile. Then she glanced at the gate, worried again.

"Don't worry," Carol said. "They will be back soon."

Carol paused watching Connie closely.

"You seem to care a lot about Daryl," she said then and Connie nodded.

"He cares a lot about you too." Connie smiled when she saw Carol saying that.

"But I guess you know that," Carol added with a sincere smile on her face. "I'm glad you found each other."

Connie made a 'thank you' sign.

Then they heard horses approaching, the gate opened and the group came in.

Connie instantly ran to Daryl, hugging him and trying not to think about what was lying under the plane on the wagon. She observed Daryl and her heart started to hurt even more. He looked beaten up, devastated, and there was also a blood stain on his shoulder. When he saw her concerned look he said:

"It's nothing, I'm alright." He tried to smile.

She wrote:  _Thank you so much for doing this. But you shouldn't have. You could have died!_

"I promised you, you ain't gonna lose me," he told her, closing his arms around her once again.


	14. Underwater

Daryl could feel the cold water running over his body, making his limbs go numb a little bit. Even if they had warm water at the Kingdom, he preferred the cold water. He preferred not to be in a bathroom at all, but he made an exception this time.  
Bathrooms always freaked him out. He was able to forget a lot of his past as an abused child, but one incident always stayed in his head and he didn't know why. Whenever he was standing in a bathroom with it's cold tiles, sinks and bathtubs, he almost always got that flashback, when he was running from his drunk father and his father caught him in their bathroom. How he smashed Daryl's head hard against the sink, so hard that the pain was unbearable and everything turned black for a moment. Then Daryl was on his knees, feeling the cold floor below him, while his father was holding his head into a tube with dirty water. The water was warm and had an awful taste. Daryl was getting more and more of it into his mouth, while he tried to breathe and free himself. He remembered how he could hear his father cursing and mocking him from far away, how he could feel his lungs slowly filling with water. He couldn't breathe and this terrible water just kept on coming into his mouth. He remembered the pain in his chest and that quiet moment that came, when suddenly everything stopped and he was feeling like he was drifting away. But then he was pulled out of the water and life got him back. He was coughing water, almost vomiting because its bad taste still lingered on in his mouth. He was breathing in heavily, even if he felt a stinging pain in his chest with every breath he took. The worst part of that all was, that his brain would never let him forget this, this moment when he was so close to death. No matter how many moments came, where he was close to death as well, this moment always stayed with him, a vivid picture in his mind. Yes, cold water was a little bit better at least. And he liked the numb feeling of his body, he wanted to feel numb on the inside too. After seeing the pikes, he just didn't want to feel anything. The thoughts overflowed his mind. His group killed the Whisperers and this could have bad consequences, even if they took their bodies with them and buried them in the woods, carefully covering their tracks. What if this wasn't enough? And the pictures of the heads also didn't get out of his mind. It was too much, so much, that his mind finally became numb. It always happened after he experienced something bad. His mind just withdrew and it felt like he was underwater again and everything surrounding him was a blurry picture behind a curtain. Thoughts, feelings, everything was pushed far away. He was glad when it happened, feeling at peace, but he knew he had to focus again. It wasn't over.

The water washed down all the blood and the dirt from his body, but it couldn't wash away the pain. It was still there, lying there sleeping, waiting for its chance to rise again.

And the chance came soon enough. When all the dirt disappeared, he took a towel and brushed the water away quickly, but as soon as he had his pants on, Connie appeared in the doorway. And then they were there again, all emotions came closing on him like a wave, devouring him.

Pain because of the loss, compassion when he saw Connie's look on her face, that he knew quite well. He looked probably the same when he lost Rick. And then even a little bit of shame since it was the first time, she saw him naked from the waist up.

Connie showed him the medical kit she brought to patch him up and he nodded. They sat at the edge of the bath tube, while she was treating the wound on his chest. He watched her closely. He knew she noticed the cigarette burn marks all over his chest, another 'gift' from his 'loving' father. He saw her frowning as she touched them slightly, but she didn't look in his eyes and he was glad, she didn't. When she was finished he hastened to put his shirt on, but she must have noticed there was something on his back. She put her hand on his shoulder and let the unbuttoned shirt slide off. He could see from the corner of his eye that she was shocked. Then she ran a finger over a scar and then looked at him, but he didn't want to look her in the eyes.

"Oh that," he murmured.

She slowly took his chin in her hand and turned his head softly to face her.

The expression in her eyes said: "What happened?"

Daryl lowered his eyes again. He was ashamed. The scars on his back were one reason why he was ashamed to be close to women. He was afraid they would ask too many questions. And probably would find them disgusting. What if she did? But she came closer with her head, trying to make eye contact with him again.

"It's a long story," Daryl finally said and sighed. "I'll tell you another time 'bout that, okay?"

She nodded. She tried to smile. Oh how much he missed her smile, how much he missed her positive nature and that hope in her eyes. Everything went to shit before they even finished their first date. He should have known it. In this world everything went to shit sooner or later.

Connie softly petted his cheek, then her forehead touched his and they sat there like that for a couple of minutes.

"I'm so sorry," Daryl said and his voice was breaking.

Connie nodded, he knew she was sorry for him too, since he also lost some friends. They were still looking each other deep in the eyes and then she kissed him softly on his lips. It was a different kiss to the once they had before. This one lasted much longer and their tongues were touching slightly, carefully exploring each other. Daryl felt how the blood was pulsating in his veins and his heart started to beat faster and faster. Their kiss went on and on, becoming more passionate. The world around him disappeared again. But this time it wasn't because he felt numb. He felt alive and he wanted to feel like that forever, he wanted to feel her. Her lips left his mouth and moved on to his neck, continuing to kiss him there softly. His head began to spin. Then she stopped and they shared a look, drowning in each others eyes. She started to taking off her shirt and that was when Daryl knew he wasn't able to hold back much longer. There was no going back. He needed her, needed her body close to him. They started kissing again and he moaned when her soft lips touched his neck again. He didn't even realize how they suddenly were on the floor. She was undressing him and he was undressing her, all of the sudden nothing could happen fast enough. And then he could feel her hot body over him and the cold floor beneath him. Their bodies united and the sensation of being in her almost made him go crazy. Thoughts were racing in his head. Thoughts about how she was healing his trauma, making him feel alive in a room where he almost died once, thoughts about what if anyone was able to hear him, since he couldn't suppress his moans, Thoughts about how beautiful she was, when he saw her above him with her eyes closed. She was enjoying it. She was enjoying him with an expression of pleasure on her face. And for the first time in his life he really enjoyed being with a woman without being drunk, without being ashamed. He loved Connie and she loved him. For the first time in his life this felt right. And he wished he could make it last forever or at least a little bit longer, but he couldn't, it felt too good, it was too much. No matter how much he tried to hold back, a wave of sensation overcame him, shook him to the bones and made him feel more alive than ever.

They were holding each other afterwards and still enjoyed to be close to each other. Then Connie told him  _I love you_ in sign language and even if she never taught him this sign, he instantly knew what she meant, so he answered: "I love you too."


	15. Comfort

It was late in the evening when the leaders of the communities decided to get together to talk about the future and Lydia's fate. Daryl wanted to join the meeting, he felt responsible, because he brought Lydia along. When he and Connie were dressed again, he told Connie about the meeting. She wanted to go with him.

"Nah, I got this. You should get some rest. It was a tough day."

He took her face in his hands and kissed her on the forehead.

She looked him deep in the eyes and told him in sign language: "Thank you for everything."

A little smile touched the corner of his mouth.

"This means 'thank you', right?" He asked.

Connie nodded. She wrote

_You're learning fast_

He grinned.

"I've a good teacher."

She kissed him tenderly and then he walked off.

Connie was standing outside, watching Daryl walking towards the big building where the meeting was held. It was cold and she wrapped her arms around herself. He was right, she was very tired and so much happened this day, but still she didn't want to go to bed. She was too much afraid to be alone with her thoughts, lying there in the dark and not being able to push them down. She glanced at the building where Daryl disappeared a couple of moments ago and thought about joining him. Lydia was her responsibility too. However, she didn't want to interfere, she knew, she was still mostly a stranger to these people. And she was certain Daryl would speak for Lydia, he was protecting her just as much as Connie was.

Connie went through the streets of the Kingdom, without destination and lost in her thoughts, when she saw a little graveyard. There were several fresh graves and when she came closer, she saw there were name tags on each of them. Seeing the graves made Connie's heart hurt again, but she was also thankful that people took care of the victims so quickly. She went to Kelly's grave and sat down on the ground with tears in her eyes. She touched the fresh soil and started to talk to her sister in her mind. Connie told her, how sorry she was, for leaving her behind. That she did that because she wanted to protect her and now she knew, that she had failed her.  
Even if it was painful, Connie was thankful she had the opportunity to say goodbye like that. She knew, if her sister would still be out there, dead or undead, she would never have been able to find peace again. Daryl must have known that and that's why he went out there for her. Connie was amazed how well Daryl understood her sometimes, despite the fact that he knew her only for a short period of time. She knew the connection they had was special and she considered herself lucky, because she never had such a connection with any of her partners before she met Daryl. Nevertheless she realized that she knew very little about him. Seeing the scars on his chest and his back was a shocking moment for her. She didn't know what he has been trough and he also didn't know what she has been through in her life. However, she felt very certain about one thing: They both needed each other and Lydia needed them. While sitting next to her sister's grave, Connie gave a promise to herself. She would never fail her new family and wherever they would go, she would go with them. Life went on. There was still something to hope for and to live for.

While Connie was lost in her thoughts, Lydia approached her and Connie looked up. Lydia was standing there with a shy look on her face, not knowing what to say.

"I'm… I'm … so sorry. This is all my fault." Suddenly she fell on her knees and started to cry. Connie shook her head. Then she opened her arms and when she saw that Lydia was still hesitant, she came closer and hugged her.

They sat like that for a while, both crying. Connie didn't want Lydia to feel guilty she already felt guilty enough for both of them. She wanted to comfort Lydia, so she took out her notepad and wrote:

_Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault. Kids are not responsible for the actions of their parents._

"My mother, she's..." But Connie put a hand on Lydia's shoulder and wrote then:

_I know. Don't think about her anymore. We're your family now._

They hugged again and this time it was Lydia who initiated the hug. Connie couldn't hear it, but Lydia was telling her "Thank you" over and over again.

Connie saw Daryl in the distance, who came out of the big building, where the leaders were deciding about Lydia's fate. He had a serious look on his face when he slowly walked towards them. Lydia looked up too. When Daryl approached them he could see they both have been crying.

"Is everything…" He didn't finish the question because Connie was nodding already. She wiped away the tears and Daryl helped her and Lydia to get on their feet.

"What did they say?" Lydia asked. She knew what was going on and Connie wanted to know too. She was concerned when she saw the look on Daryl's face. He sighed.

"Thing is, everyone's worried. And no matter where we go, Alexandria or Hilltop or if we stay at the Kingdom, people will always be worried and they might blame you for what happened."

Lydia looked down on the ground "I know they already do and they're probably right."

Daryl and Connie exchanged a look and Connie patted Lydia's shoulder while Daryl said to her:

"It ain't your fault. Look, no matter what people think or say, it ain't your fault, okay?" He tried to make eye contact with Lydia and Connie hoped Lydia would listen to him.

"We took you along because it was the right thing to do. You 're a good kid."

Lydia looked at Daryl with tears in her eyes and Connie felt tears were rising in her eyes too.

"It ain't your fault that your mother's a piece of shit, don't blame yourself for that."

Lydia nodded. Connie was glad to see her understanding it and also that Daryl spoke to her. The way he talked about Lydia's mother made Connie think that he was abused by his parents too. Maybe that was the reason why he understood Lydia so well and why she believed him.

Lydia sniffed and wiped away some tears.

"What are we going to do now?" She asked.

Daryl looked at Connie again and Connie was hoping he had a plan.

"There's maybe one community where we still could go. Oceanside. They said, they would take you in… Take us in. The didn't lose any people, so they won't be blaming you for anything. That's that. But it's a long journey and it's dangerous too."

"But wouldn't they be in danger because of me?"

Daryl shook his head.

"Not really. They have a good security system. No one's coming in without them noticing it. No walker, no human."

"And they would really take me in?"

"Yep, that's what they said."

"Are you coming along?" She asked and Daryl looked again at Connie who nodded slightly. They were family, they couldn't leave Lydia alone. Daryl started to nod too.

"We're coming too. Both of us."

Connie's face lit up and Daryl was more than happy to see that.

"And Henry?" Lydia asked.

Lydia was missing Henry already. He was with his parents and she felt lost without him.

"I don't think his parents will let him go. Not this time," Daryl said. "Sorry."

"I understand." Lydia tried to sound understanding but both Daryl and Connie could see how heartbroken she was.

"Hey. He can't come with us. But maybe he can come visit sometime? You know, once when things calmed down a bit?" Daryl tried to cheer her up and Lydia smiled through her tears and nodded.

"Let's go to sleep then. We roll out early in the morning, so we should get some rest."

"I tell Henry goodnight and that we're leaving tomorrow," Lydia said and ran away.

Suddenly Daryl and Connie were alone again and Connie was wishing she could spend the night with him. She wanted him to hold her in his arms and to comfort her until she fell asleep. She took his hand. Once again he must have known what she was thinking. He wasn't looking at her, but his lips moved and he said:

"Maybe you shouldn't be alone tonight?"

She squeezed his hand and when he looked at her he could see that she was more than happy about that offer.


	16. Safest Route

Daryl had a lot on his mind when he was lying awake on the floor in a small bedroom. Lydia was sleeping in a bed which was only big enough for one person, so they decided she should take it. Daryl and Connie took the floor on the left side of the bed, while Dog was sleeping and snoring on the right side. Daryl was holding Connie in his arms and he couldn't tell, if she was sleeping or not, because it was too dark and she didn't move. He didn't dare to move either, afraid to wake her, so he was just lying there, staring into the darkness. He tried to think about the next day and what route they should take. If they would come across the Whispers, it would end very badly for them, but now, since they knew their territory, they could at least avoid going through it.  
No matter how much Daryl tried to focus on the route, his thoughts always went back to the moment with Connie in the bathroom earlier that day. Was it rushed? Should they have waited? Should it have been more romantic? Connie didn't strike him as someone who wanted it to be like in a romantic movie, but what if she did? And it was definitely over too soon, he should put more effort in making it last longer the next time. If he could. If there would be a next time.  
Connie moved a little bit and he held his breath. He still didn't knew, if she was awake, but she was there, lying in his arms and he asked himself why he had so many doubts… Of course there would be a next time… Even if it would probably take some time to get some privacy. They had a long travel before them and as soon as they arrived in Oceanside they would have to get used to the new community. But the journey was the main concern now.

_So back to the route again… think!_  He tried to encourage himself, but the fatigue overpowered him and he finally fell asleep.

In the next morning Daryl stood up early, trying not to wake Lydia and Connie. He found a map and sat down at a table outside, studying the map and trying to find the best route. After some time passed, Connie came out of the house. She brought some things, she had packed for their trip and sat down at the other side of the table.

They greeted each other with a smile.

Daryl showed her the route he thought was the safest.

"It's much longer than the direct one, but it would be safer like that."

Connie nodded in agreement.

"You're really up for this?" He asked.

He could see in her face, that she was surprised, how he could even ask her that and then she nodded firmly.  
It wasn't that he didn't want her to come along, he was just afraid that something could happen to her and he didn't know how much she new about Alpha.

"It's just dangerous, you know. Alpha said she'll kill anyone she sees with her daughter," he told her. But he could see in Connie's face that this didn't scare her much.

_We stay together no matter what,_ Connie wrote on her notepad then.

Daryl was still concerned and she noticed that.

_I always wanted to go to the beach anyway._

This made Daryl smile a little bit and he could see, that Connie was happy about that.

_A chance for a second date when we get there?_ She wrote and showed him the note with a defiant look on her face. Daryl thought about how much he loved that look.

"Sure," he answered. Then his thoughts from last night came back into his mind again.

"Maybe we should have waited," he said then quietly. Connie gave him a questioning look.

"With… you know… maybe it was rushed?" Daryl asked, not looking at her.

_Life is short and we should enjoy every moment. And I enjoyed it a lot,_ she wrote.

When Daryl saw her note he blushed. Unlike him, she certainly had no problem to talk about it.

"Wished I could've made you enjoy it a bit longer," Daryl murmured turning completely red. He was even a little bit afraid to look at the next note, but when he did it, he read:

_There's always a next time._

Daryl's heart was racing when he looked at her and she was smiling. It was one of those happy smiles, he had missed so much.

They were interrupted by Lydia, who came out with her things packed and Henry by her side, holding her hand. Carol and Ezekiel and all their friends came too, to say goodbye.

They all gathered together by the gate.

"I wished I could go with you, but my dad really needs me right now," Henry told Lydia, who was crying.

"I know," she said and kissed him.

"We see each other again, I promise!" Henry told her then.

Dog was with them too and he was seemingly feeling better, running around in excitement.

"Hey, take it easy, boy," Daryl told him, still worried about his injury.

While everybody was telling their goodbyes, Cyndie made a sign to Connie, who understood it instantly and answered with a sign too. They both smiled and Rachel also said something in sign language.

Daryl was surprised to see that.

"You guys know sign language?"

"Yeah, there's a deaf woman living in Oceanside. Her name is Martha. She told us a couple of signs."

Connie smiled at Daryl, who was smiling back.

He wished he had learned more signs, so he could communicate with her like that too and he decided to ask her to teach him more soon.

Carol came to him to say goodbye.

"You're smiling so often recently. I think I never saw you smiling that often in all these years," she said, when she hugged him.

"I do?" He asked automatically, not being aware of that he did it so often.

Carol nodded.

"Yes. It seems like you finally found somebody who makes you happy." She glanced at Connie.

Daryl also looked in Connie's direction and said:

"I guess you're right."

"I'm glad for you both! You deserve that!" She hugged him again. "Please take care."

"I will."

The little group got into the carriage and they left the Kingdom.

Daryl was sitting in the front with Cyndie and Rachel while Connie, Lydia and Dog were sitting in the back. Daryl was glancing now and then at them, wishing he could sit next to Connie. He already missed being close to her, but at least he could see that little smile on her face. He could also still see grief there, but she definitely started to heal. Being with him and Lydia seemed to help her.

Daryl was showing Cyndie and Rachel the way, hoping he picked the safest route.

When they drove in silence for a while, he asked Cyndie:

"So there are still no men in Oceanside?"

"Well, it's not that we're hostile towards men particularly, it's just that we have still a problem with letting people in. But we trust you, so it should be okay."

"Let's hope your people don't shoot me on sight then," he joked and all of them smiled.

But their smiles instantly disappeared when they saw a couple of walkers in the distance. Cyndie, who was driving the carriage, made the horses stop.

They watched the walkers for a while and Daryl was frantically thinking about what to do. The walkers were in their path. Should they take another route? But if the walkers turned out to be Whisperers, then they had probably seen them already. It would be safer to take them out. And since there weren't many of them, it shouldn't be a problem.

"Stay back," Daryl told the others and got off the carriage. But Connie was by his side in the next moment with her slingshot ready and a decisive look on her face.

"I'll come with you too," Rachel said, joining them.

"Okay, but watch out. It could be Whisperers," Daryl told them.

The three of them slowly approached the walkers. When the walkers saw them, they started coming towards them. Daryl was worried and the adrenaline was rushing through his veins once again. But the group easily took the walkers out and they also took care of two more, who came out of the woods. Daryl was watching them carefully and he was relieved it weren't Whisperers. It was unnerving to know every walker they encountered could be a Whisperer and Daryl knew he would never be able look at the walkers the same way again.

When they turned around to walk back, they suddenly saw a walker approaching Lydia.


	17. A Cold Night

"Lydia!" Daryl shouted.

Connie could see the panic in his face, before she turned around to the carriage, where a walker was approaching Lydia. The horses were scared and almost overturned the carriage, Cyndie was having a hard time to get control of them. Dog was barking at the walker and bit him when he got too close to Lydia.  
Connie, Daryl and Rachel ran back as fast as they could. Connie was so worried and her heart was beating so fast, she thought it could break her chest any moment. She couldn't take any more losses, not Lydia, not now!  
When they finally got to the carriage, Lydia had already killed the walker with her knife. Cyndie was still busy with the horses which seemed to be calmer now. Daryl went quickly to the walker and checked if he wore a mask or had a knife. But it was only a normal walker, an old man, whose face was partly ripped off. Daryl turned to Lydia then.

"You alright?" He asked her and she nodded. Connie was so relieved that Lydia was okay, she almost started to cry.

"Okay, let's move on," Daryl said.

Before they got into the carriage again, Connie saw that Daryl was looking at her. Then he quickly approached her, took her hand and squeezed it, before he went to the front of the carriage. Connie was happy about the touch, even if it was a brief one.

They continued their way and encountered little groups of walkers now and then. Connie's heart was always beating fast, when they had to fight them. But none of them was a Whisperer. It seemed the Whisperers really didn't leave their own territory. And even though Connie knew that they probably have left the Whisperer's territory far behind, she still felt uneasy. They had a long way to go and it was already getting dark.

They got to a river and decided to spend the night there. The horses needed rest and it was too dangerous to travel, when they could barely see something.  
So they arranged a cozy sleeping place in the carriage, using some blankets.

"We take watch first."

Connie was happy when she read those words on Daryl's lips. The whole day trough she longed for a little moment with him, a moment when she could be close to him and maybe kiss him again.

He gave her a brief smile and she knew he was thinking the same. While the others went to sleep, Daryl and Connie sat down on a fallen tree, not far away from the carriage. Dog was resting next to their feet, ready to warn them, if there was some danger.  
Night fell and it got colder. Connie shivered slightly. Everything seemed to be calm and the moon shone brightly, its light reflected by the water of the river.

When Connie looked at Daryl, she noticed that he was starring at her with a longing expression in his eyes. She felt the same longing inside her. Their faces approached each other slowly and then their lips melted in a tender kiss. Connie felt butterflies in her stomach and a light dizziness in her head.

When they moved apart they were both smiling.

"I've missed that," Daryl told her with an amorous look in his eyes. She made a sign which meant:

"Me too."

Daryl seemed to understand it.

"You too, right?" He asked her and she nodded. Then she shivered again and Daryl noticed that.

"You cold?" He asked and she nodded again. After hesitating for a short moment he said:

"Come here."

Then he put his arms around her, pulling her closer. She enjoyed being close to him and to feel his warm embrace around her.  
She watched the moon for a while breathing in the fresh air of the night. Of course it was dangerous to be out here again, but she enjoyed the nature and the woods. And as long as everything was calm and peaceful and Daryl was close to her, she felt alright. She looked at him, admiring the curves of his face and the blue color of his eyes. He seemed to think about something. Then he looked back at her.

"Can you teach me more signs?" He asked and Connie was glad he wanted to learn some more. She took her notepad out and taught him a couple of signs. He didn't ask her for special words, so she was teaching him some positive words that came to her mind like "love", "friends", "family", "good", "we", "understand".  
He was repeating them all, trying to memorize them.

Then he suddenly asked her the sign for "danger" and that made her frown. She instantly thought of the moment when she saw Lydia being almost attacked by a walker and she could see Kelly's grave before her inner eye. There was a heaviness in her heart when she taught Daryl the sign.

He noticed the expression in her face and told her:

"Just in case."

She tried to smile, but it didn't come out right.

"Let's hope we won't need that anytime soon," Daryl added then, closely studying her face.

She couldn't help but think about the danger they were in and that she just couldn't lose him or Lydia or anyone else.

"How do you say 'I'm happy'?'" Daryl asked her then and she knew he was trying to distract her from her thoughts. She showed him the sign, but even though she could see he was trying hard to memorize it, he didn't repeat it this time like he did with the other signs.

"And what's the sign for... girlfriend?" He asked then avoiding her eyes when she looked at him in curiosity. She showed him the sign too.

He was thinking for a moment and then he made the "I'm happy" sign. And after that he pointed at her, then at himself and made the sign for girlfriend, followed by a questioning look on his face.

Connie understood what he was asking and the smile on her face was real this time.

"Are you?" He asked her when she didn't answer him directly. She kissed him and then she nodded. Connie could feel butterflies in her stomach again. They were like two High-school students, who were falling in love for the first time in their lives and still Connie felt that what she had with Daryl was more serious and real than some other relationships she once had in her life.

"You will like it in Oceanside" Daryl told her.

_What not to like about being at the beach and being there with you,_ she wrote and he even laughed briefly when he read it.

"The water's probably too cold to swim, though."

_Plenty of other things we can do there._ She wrote and gave him another defiant look.

It was dark and she couldn't see the color of his face but she knew he was blushing. She loved how she could make him blush so easily. He was strong and brave, a real fighter, but with her, he often had this shy look on his face, especially when they were talking about intimate topics. And she thought seeing this soft side of him was the sweetest thing in the world.

She saw how he briefly looked at the carriage where Cyndie, Rachel and Lydia were sleeping and then he looked back at her. Connie thought she knew what he was thinking. She was thinking the same. She wanted to be close to him too, real close, like they were in the bathroom, but she also knew, they had to wait until they arrived in Oceanside and hopefully they could have a private moment there.

The hours passed and they were just sitting there, holding and warming each other and starring into the blackness of the woods. Connie was happy to be close to Daryl. He was able to make her feel good, only by holding her in his arms.


	18. Strangers

They arrived in Oceanside the next day, late at noon. When they passed the guards, Daryl noticed the suspicious looks on their faces and when his group finally entered the community, people standing near the gates suddenly stopped talking and everyone was looking at them.

"And you really think it was the best idea to come here?" Lydia asked Daryl.

"They'll get used to us," he answered, but started to feel insecure about their decision too.

Some of the people approached the carriage, welcoming Cyndie and Rachel back. They were looking at Daryl and the others with the same suspicious looks on their faces, like the guards did before. Cyndie told them all that she will explain everything later and they don't have to worry about it.

"Let's get something to eat first and then I will make an announcement to them all," Cyndie finally told the group, when they were alone again.

They all sat together in Rachel's and Cyndie's house, eating their first meal of the day.

"You sure, your people are okay with us being here?" Daryl asked Cyndie.

"Don't worry, I will explain it to them. It's going to be okay, they just have to get used to see new people around."

"You should tell 'em about the Whisperers too," Daryl said after a while with a thoughtful look on his face.

Cyndie nodded. "I will."

Connie was sitting next to Daryl and when they finished their meal, while the others were still eating, she touched his hand slightly and he took her hand in his.

After everyone was finished with eating, Rachel went outside to gather all the Oceanside inhabitants together.

Cyndie told her people about Daryl and his group and how she granted asylum to them. She also told them everything about the Whisperers and warned them to be extra careful when they encounter the undead the next time. They all also decided to put more guards on duty, just in case.

There was a big fuss when she finished talking. Daryl looked around and he could see people were far from being happy about everything. Most of them had concerned and even hostile looks on their faces.

"I don't know, those people don't seem to want us around much," Lydia said when everyone was gone. Daryl was thinking the same, but he knew they came a long way and at least they had to try.

"I know, but that's because we're strangers to 'em. Give it some time, maybe it'll change."

"And what if it doesn't? What are we going to do do then?" Lydia was seemingly worried.

"I dunno. What you think about all that?" He asked Connie who was watching them with a serious look on her face.

It's definitely worth a try, she wrote. We only arrived here.

Daryl nodded.

An elderly woman came to them. She had long white hair and a chubby, friendly face. Unlike other people they encountered in Oceanside, she was smiling at them and she made some signs. Connie understood them and answered her with some signs too.

This must be Martha, Daryl thought.

Connie and her talked in sign language for a while and then she left, waving at them.

"What did she say?" Daryl asked Connie.

She apologized for people here being hostile towards us. She said they are skeptical, but the will come around finally and Rick's friends are always welcome here.

Daryl smiled, but he could also feel sadness inside him, when he heard Rick's name.

"Who is Rick? I heard a lot of people talking about him," Lydia said.

Daryl looked at Connie, who laid her hand above his and nodded, encouraging him to tell the story.

"Rick was searching for his family when I first met him," Daryl began.

"I was a stranger to him, a jerk with an asshole brother, but he never treated me like that. He treated people with respect and he became our leader soon. We've been through hell together, all of us, fought a lot of battles, lost a lot of people. And Rick was always there, guiding us through all of this. He brought people and communities together. And in the end he sacrificed his life to protect us." There was admiration in Daryl's voice and he had to gulp a couple of times to keep the tears back. Connie must had noticed that, she squeezed his hand softly and he gave her a grateful look.

"He was like a brother to me. A great man," Daryl finished then.

"Sorry that he died," Lydia said and Daryl nodded.

Daryl's group was given a little house with two rooms and when night fell, they all went to sleep in the bedroom. There were two beds this time and while Connie and Daryl shared one bad, Lydia was sleeping in the other. Dog was sleeping on the floor. Daryl was holding Connie in his arms, enjoying to be close to her, but feeling a little bit disappointed that they still didn't have any privacy.

The next day, two women came to Daryl. They asked hesitantly, if Daryl could help them fixing the roof of the storage house and he gladly agreed. He was hoping it would be easier for them to accept him and the others, if they helped their community. Connie and Lydia were also busy working together with people from the Oceanside. It was almost evening already, when Connie and Daryl saw each other again.

"Sorry, would've taken you to the beach, but it was a tough day," Daryl told her.

Connie wrote: I know. But it's good we can help them. Maybe they will accept us after all.

Lydia came to them she didn't seem to be exhausted at all.

"Can I spend the evening at Vicky's place? She wanted to show me how to dry fish," she asked seemingly being excited about her new friend.

"Sure," Daryl told her and she went away. He was happy Lydia made some friends. Maybe everything would work out for them in Oceanside after all.

Connie came close to him and hugged him. He enjoyed the hug, but then he was suddenly aware of how dirty and sweaty he was. He moved little bit away from her.

"Maybe I should take a shower," he said then, but Connie shook her head. She just took his hand and lead him inside the house.

They spend a joyful time together and Daryl did everything he could to make her happy.

After that they were holding each other close and they had both content looks on their faces

Connie was tracing the scar on his face with her finger.

"You think they're disgusting?" He asked and Connie narrowed her eyebrows.

"The scars, I mean."

Connie firmly shook her head. Then she pointed to the scar on his face with a questioning look.

"How I got it?" He asked and she nodded.

"It happened when I was saving Dog. Poor boy was caught in a building, guess someone locked him in there. I tried to get in through a broken window and almost ripped half of my face off on the broken glass. But it was worth it." Both of them smiled. Then Connie pointed to the scars on his back.

"Oh, that's a long story."

Connie gave him an encouraging look, meaning that she would like to hear it. But before he could start to tell her the story, they heard Lydia coming back, so they left the bed quickly and got dressed as fast as they could.

Lydia raised an eyebrow when she saw them hastily coming out of the bedroom.

"I didn't mean to interrupt you doing, um, whatever it was, you were doing," she said then and grinned.

"Do you want me gone?" She asked.

Daryl couldn't hide his embarrassment and the big smile on Connie's face was telling him, that she noticed it. It always seemed to amuse her when he was embarrassed.

Nevertheless he tried to stay cool and cleared his throat.

"No, actually I wanna tell Connie something and I think you should know it too."


	19. Happy Family

"What is it?" Lydia asked as they sat around the table.

"Connie asked me about my past, thought you would like to hear it too." Daryl paused and he saw there was curiosity in Lydia's eyes.

"You know, my dad... he was similar to your mom. Used to beat the shit out of me, when I was a kid. He liked it when I was scared. He liked it when he had the power. Always told me that I was nothing and I will always be nothing. Sounds familiar, huh?"

"Yeah," Lydia said, lowering her eyes.

Connie was upset, she could feel how her heart started to hurt as she learned Daryl's story. She was raised by loving parents, who died too soon and it was hard to imagine that people did such things to their own children. She took Daryl's hand and he continued:

"When he was drunk, he had this expression on his face, that's when I knew I should better run and hide." Daryl paused again for a moment.

"One night, he found me hiding in the woods. He beat me so hard, I thought I was gonna die. And now I have a nice reminder of it for the rest of my life."

He pulled his shirt up a little bit and showed Lydia the scars on his back, then he quickly pulled it back again.

"What an asshole," said Lydia angrily.

Connie was shocked and had a big lump in her throat.

"Thing is," Daryl continued, "you can't choose the family you're born into. And when parents threat you like shit it's because they're full shit, not you."

Daryl and Lydia were looking at each other.

"You can always choose to be better than them. And not to believe the bullshit they're feeding you," Daryl told her.

Lydia nodded.

"And you still can choose to leave them finally," she said.

"Yeah, that too."

"When did you leave your dad?" Lydia asked him.

"When I was 17."

"And you lived on your own then?"

"Nah. I was with my brother after that. Can't say it was the best choice of my life, but that's another story."

Daryl looked at Connie who wrote:  _I'm so sorry_

"It's okay," Daryl said. "It was a long time ago."

"I'm glad we're all together," Lydia said finally. "And I'm glad you're my family now," she added shyly.

Daryl gave her a pat on the back. "Yes, me too."

On the next day they helped the people in Oceanside again. While Daryl was still fixing the roof, Connie helped Martha with the laundry. She was lost in her thoughts, still thinking about Daryl and what he has been through in his life. She felt sorry for him. Even if he said it was a long time ago, she could feel that it still haunted him. And it would probably be on his mind until the end of his life, just like the scars on his back.

Martha got her out of her thoughts, when she started to talk to her in sign language and Connie answered her. It was nice to know someone, who knew the sign language. She learned that Martha was living in Oceanside with the others after the Saviors killed several of their family members. Connie was shocked when she heard that the Saviors have killed so many people. Martha told her they killed her husband too and that she was glad they didn't have any kids. She was also thankful that Rick and his friends defeated the Saviors finally and put their leader in jail.

It was late afternoon when they finished their work.

Daryl, Connie and Lydia decided to go to the beach then and Lydia was excited about it, because she had never been to the beach before.

"It's so big!" Lydia shouted when she saw the ocean.

Connie tried to enjoy it too. She breathed the salty air in and watched the silent ocean, while she was walking. She had a basket with food in one hand and Daryl was holding her other hand. But no matter how hard she tried, there were too many thoughts on her mind to enjoy their peaceful time together.

Connie and Daryl sat down on a stone. They looked at Lydia, who crouched in front of the ocean watching the waves with a content look on her face.

_Martha told me about the Saviors,_ Connie wrote then.

"Yeah, that was tough. One of our hardest fights."

_But when they gave up, you forgave them?_

"Rick wanted to end this. So he spared them. Put their leader in jail."

Connie thought about it for a while.

_I don't know if I could do that,_ She wrote then.  _I know , I could never forgive the people who murdered my sister._

"I can't forgive Negan either. He's an asshole but he has nothing on Alpha."

_I hope we will never see her again._

Daryl put his arm around Connie and she tried to think about something else.

_The ocean is beautiful,_ She wrote.

"You are beautiful," he told her and she kissed him.

They spent several weeks in Oceanside and people finally got used to them. They were smiling at them and greeting them and Daryl was happy about it. He and Connie also got some private moments now and then, everything felt good and he was almost afraid to let himself be happy, because he knew it always didn't end well when he did.

Connie was doing the dishes and Daryl was studying a plan for another building, the Oceansiders were planning to put up, when Lydia came in, out of breath from running.

"Hey guys, you have to see that!" She shouted.

When they all went outside, they saw a couple of snowflakes.

"It's snowing, isn't that cool?" Lydia was spinnig around with her arms wide open. Daryl and Connie exchanged a look and smiled.

Daryl put his hand out with the palm up and he could feel how the snowflakes were falling on his palm and melting immediately. He looked up and caught a couple of snowflakes with his tongue. He didn't see snow for a long time and it was never snowing much. But this time it continued to snow until the evening and soon everything was covered in snow. Everyone was outside. Vicky and Lydia were building a snowman. Daryl watched them for a while and felt happy. At least Lydia could have some careless moments now and do things he never did when he was young, like building a snowman. Something cold hit him from behind. He turned around and saw Connie, who threw a snowball at him. He crouched down to gather some snow and make a snowball, when she hit him with another snowball on the head.

"Just you wait!" Daryl shouted and threw a snowball at her, but missed, because she dodged it. She put her tongue out at him and ran away laughing while Daryl made another snowball and started to chase her. It became a real snowball fight, they were chasing each other, hiding, throwing snowballs and laughing like little kids. Daryl's hands were almost numb from the cold snow, nevertheless he made two snowballs and he was slowly walking towards a tree where Connie was hiding. Suddenly something hit him from behind again, he turned around and saw Lydia and then Connie came out of her cover and hit him with a snowball too.

"Hey, that's not fair," Daryl complained, while both of them were laughing. He finally got to Connie, who tried to run away and was too slow. He held her tight in his arms and she struggled to get free, until they stumbled and fell into the snow. He picked some snow up, making another snowball and when Connie saw that, she kissed him and he let the snowball roll out of his hand.

"Okay, you win," he said, when they moved apart.

They came home, all cold but happy. They ate and warmed themselves at the fireplace, before they went to sleep.

Daryl was enjoying the cozy warm bed more than ever and he was also enjoying having Connie close to him. He smiled all the time and fell asleep soon.

In the middle of the night there was suddenly a loud noise and Daryl woke up with his heart racing. Then he heard somebody screaming.


	20. Snow

Connie woke up from Daryl's sudden movements. He got out of the bed quickly and she saw the serious look on his face, so she got up too. Lydia was also awake.

"What was that?" She asked.

"I dunno."

They ran outside and saw a lot of people standing in front of the neighboring house. The roof of the house had collapsed and the mother with her daughter, who lived there, were standing outside with shocked looks on their faces.

"What happened?" Daryl asked.

"We heard a cracking sound and we barely made it outside, before the roof collapsed. It must have been the snow."

"Damn it." Daryl said. The snow was becoming a big problem. It never snowed that much and they never encountered that kind of issue. Connie gave Daryl a worried look and he looked worried too.

The friends of the two women took them in and it was still snowing the whole night through.

Connie couldn't sleep. She was too much afraid their roof could collapse too. Daryl was also awake.

"We should take care of it tomorrow. Clear the roofs of all houses," he said and Connie nodded.

The next morning it finally stopped snowing, but there was a lot of snow already everywhere and people started clearing their roofs.

"I never saw that much snow in my life," Daryl said, as he climbed up on the roof of their small house with a shovel in his hand. He started to clear the roof and Dog was running back and forth, exited about the falling snow. He jumped up several times, trying to catch some of the snow, that was falling down.

"You're okay up there?" Lydia asked. She and Connie were a little bit concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Watch out for Dog," Daryl answered. He was afraid that he would accidentally hurt Dog with all the snow he was throwing down.

Lydia tried to lure Dog away from the house.

"Come here, boy," She said clapping her hands.

But it had no use, Dog was too much caught up in playing with the snow. So Lydia made a snowball and threw it in the other direction. Dog saw it and ran after it as the snowball disappeared in a big pile of snow. Dog stuck his head into the pile, searching for the snowball. Daryl, Connie and Lydia were all laughing when they saw it and when Dog pulled his snout out of the pile, he was obviously confused which made them laugh even harder. Lydia was holding her stomach laughing tears, while Daryl was so distracted, that he slipped and almost fell down from the roof. Connie looked up, worried again and Daryl put a hand up.

"I'm fine," he told her, showing the sign for "I'm fine", he learned recently. Connie smiled.

She signed to him: "Careful". He understood and nodded.

When he was finished with clearing the roof, he came down and Connie hugged him.

She noticed how cold his whole body was and his hands were too, so she took them in hers, trying to warm them. He smiled and they shared a long kiss.

People were taking care of the roofs of their own houses, to avoid the danger coming with the snow. The sun was shining as Connie and Daryl walked through the town. The mother and daughter with the collapsed house were still busy, trying to get their belongings out of the remains of their house. Connie felt sorry for them. The collapsed house was uninhabitable now.

"Hey, you need help?" Daryl asked.

"Thank you, we got this," the woman answered.

"But they need help at the storehouse, I think."

Connie and Daryl went there, Lydia followed them with Dog.

The storehouse was a big building, it was higher than the other houses and it had a big roof, which was still covered in snow.

Daryl and two women decided to climb up. Connie was still holding his hand and she didn't want to let him go. She had an uneasy feeling seeing him on the roof of their own house already. And this house was much higher.

"I'll be careful," he told her, seeing the worried look on her face and kissed her.

Connie knew it would take a while to clear the roof and she had other business to take care of, but somehow she didn't want to walk away. She thought when she watched him, nothing could happen to him and this would change, if she went away. But nevertheless she had to go.

When she came back, she saw him still working on the roof and she was relieved. Her only wish was that he would be finished soon.

Lydia was sitting on a table and watching the people on the roof working.

Suddenly they both saw, how some of the snow started to move down the roof, right where Daryl was standing. He slipped and fell off the roof into a little pile of snow, while some snow from the roof fell upon him. Connie covered her mouth in shock, then she ran to him as fast as she could and other people were also quickly there. Daryl's face was contorted with pain.

"Damn snow," he moaned. Connie and the others helped him out of the snow pile

When they finally freed him he was holding his leg. He was lucky that the little snow pile mostly broke his fall, but he still hurt his leg when he landed on the ground.

Connie and Lydia supported him while they were walking back home. The doctor from Oceanside came with them and examined his leg. It was bruised and swollen.

"It's bruised heavily, you need to cool it," she told him.

"Like I didn't have enough cooling for today," he said dryly and thanked her.

Connie was patting his back and Lydia gave him a compassionate look.

Daryl changed into dry clothes, and Connie and Lydia were busy taking care of him. Lydia gathered snow for his leg, to cool it, while Connie tried to keep the rest of him warm. She put a blanked over his shoulders and gave him some hot tea. Dog licked his hand and Daryl petted Dog's head.

"You were lucky, could've ended worse," Lydia said, when they sat around the fireplace.

"Yeah, damn lucky me," Daryl said. He was embarrassed about the stupid accident and about how they were fussing over him now.

The next day Daryl was up early. He wanted to go outside, but Connie stopped him.

She pointed at his leg.

"I'm alright," he told her and made the sign for it. She shook her head.

"I'll just go checking, if they still need help with that damn roof."

But Connie shook her head again with a serious look on her face and then she took his hand and tried to pull him back into the bedroom.

Even Lydia didn't want to let him go.

"Daryl, she's right. Take it easy today. They can do it without you."

Daryl sighed, but obeyed. He spent the whole day at home, while the others went out to do their daily work. He felt useless, but his leg still hurt and he had a heavy headache. His throat was also starting to feel sore and he was coughing. He decided to lie down for a little bit, hoping he would feel better after that, but then he slept almost the whole day through. He only woke up when Lydia and Connie came back. His head still felt like a balloon and he felt dizzy when he tried to get up. Connie came to him and looked concerned. She sat next to him on the bed and laid her cold hand on his forehead and he could see, that she was worried.

_You're burning up,_  she wrote.

"I'm not, maybe your hands are just cold," he said, but he knew she was probably right.

Connie made him a hot tee and brought him also something to eat, but he didn't touch the food.

_You should eat something_ , Connie wrote.

"I'm not hungry," he said and he could see that Connie was frowning.

"I guess I should sleep a bit more, it'll be better tomorrow."

Connie nodded and kissed his hot forehead.

But when the night came, Daryl only started to feel worse and worse. His teeth chattered and he was shaking and sweating under the two blankets Connie covered him with.

Connie couldn't sleep and she was sitting by his side, not knowing what to do.

"It's getting worse," Lydia noticed. She couldn't sleep either. "I'll go get the doctor."

The doctor came and examined Daryl, who was still in a feverish sleep.

"I'm sorry, we're really low on medical supplies," she said.

"There is not much we can do against the fever, he just has to go through it."

Connie felt hot tears coming up. She felt helpless.

"Make sure he drinks a lot and keep him warm," the doctor said, before she left.

Lydia was sitting on her bed, chewing her nails and she was worried as well.

They were up the whole night watching over Daryl.

Daryl woke up twice. He seemed to be in a feverish trance even when he was awake, but Connie was able to make him drink some tea. She was tired and exhausted and fell asleep on his bedside, right before the morning came.

She woke up at noon and Daryl slowly opened his eyes too. She touched his forehead and it felt less hot than the day before. He wasn't shaking that much either.

"Hey," he said in a hoarse voice. Connie couldn't hold back her tears, she was relieved that he seemed to feel better.

"Hey, stop that. I'm fine," he told her when he saw her crying and she kissed his hand, which she was holding the whole time.

"Ain't gonna die, 'cause of a damn cold."

"Don't you even dare!" Lydia told him and he smiled. She brought him some tea and then the three of them sat on the bed.

"I really hate that damn snow," Daryl said and laughed a little and Connie and Lydia both smiled.


	21. Candy Land

After a couple of days Daryl started to feel better. Connie and Lydia still were worried about him, though, so they made sure he didn't go out in the cold, until he fully recovered.

One morning they were sitting outside, with two other women from Oceanside, making a new fishing net. When they were finished. Connie wrote to Lydia:

_I'll go look how our patient is doing._

Lydia nodded.

"I'll go visit Vicky, her mom invited me to have lunch with them."

Connie nodded and touched Lydia's shoulder slightly.

"I won't be home until the evening, so you have the house to yourself."

Connie smiled at this. She was thankful that Lydia gave her and Daryl some private time now and then.  
Lydia stood up and signed: "See you later" to Connie. She had learned some ASL and Daryl was sometimes jealous, because Lydia learned it way faster than he did.

"See you later" was one of Lydia's favorite signs and Connie answered her with the same sign.

When Connie came back, she saw Daryl sitting on the floor holding some nails in his mouth and a hammer in his hand. There were several boards lying on the floor and he was making a shelf, since they barely had furniture in their little home.

"Hi," he said through his teeth and waved at her.

Connie shook her head with a scolding look on her face, but she couldn't hide her smile. She knew Daryl didn't like to stay in bed the whole day. He even wanted to go out and get to work, one day after he was having that terrible fever. She crouched down next to him and wrote on her notepad:

_I thought you were resting._

Daryl took the nails out of his mouth.

"I am," he said.

_You went outside, didn't you?_

She pointed with her finger to the couple of boards, which hadn't been there in the morning.

"Oh, just went out there to get these, no big deal."

Connie rolled her eyes and shook her head again, but she still smiled.

"I feel better, really," he assured her.

She had to admit, he looked better too, he wasn't that pale anymore, but since they didn't have any medication, she didn't want him to take any risks.

_Okay, then prove it to me,_ she wrote.

"How?" He asked.

She stood up and took his hands to help him to stand up too. Then she kissed him tenderly.

"Oh, that's how," he said before they kissed again.

They went to the bedroom, still kissing on the way there and Connie enjoyed it. It had been a while since they had some time together alone. Her body was still cold from sitting outside the whole morning. She couldn't wait to finally undress and to be close to Daryl. When they got rid of their clothes and were lying in bed, she could feel his warm body against hers. His gentle touches, the loving look in his eyes and his lips on hers made her forget everything around her. They were kissing each other again and again, like they couldn't get enough of one another. She pulled him closer to her, longing to feel him inside her. When their bodies finally joined together, his movements were tender, and his kisses felt soft and sweet. She wished it would last forever, although she knew it couldn't, so she tried to enjoy every single moment. She was losing herself in him and the pleasure lasted long enough for her to feel a little explosion of sensations in her body.  
He was holding her in his arms after that and she felt pleasantly exhausted.

"So you got your prove now?" He asked.

Connie pretended like she was thinking about it for a moment and signed: "I don't know."

Then she took her notepad which was lying on the small bed table.

_Maybe I will need another proof,_ she wrote with a grin on her face.

"You're really trying to kill me, ain't ya?" Daryl laughed. She kissed him and after they held each other close for some time, Connie got her second prove.

When Lydia came home, she was very excited and she was holding something in her hands. Connie loved how happy Lydia was, since they arrived in Oceanside. It seemed like she was finally healing from all the horror her mother put her through. Seeing her being joyful and happy warmed Connie's heart.

"Look what Vicky gave me. We were playing it the whole afternoon."

Lydia showed them a colorful box with pictures and "Candy Land" written on it. Connie remembered that game. She played it with her parents and her sister when she was little.

Connie watched with amusement how Daryl inspected the box with a skeptical look on his face.

"Forget it, I ain't playing such games," he told her.

"Oh come on, it's really fun," Lydia begged.

"You two play, I watch," he said, but then he saw the pleading expression in Connie's and Lydia's eyes. Daryl sighed.

"Fine. One round. But I don't know how to play it."

Lydia mad a cheerful sound and Connie was happy too.

"It's easy, I played it with Vicky and her mom a couple of times," Lydia said and then explained the rules.

"I take the red one," she said when she finished explaining and grabbed the red playing piece.

Connie could see that Daryl wasn't too excited about the game, but she was glad he agreed to play it. She thought that he and Lydia both probably never had played board games in their lives and it was nice, they got to do it now.

They played several rounds and Lydia won every time.

"Okay, that's it, I'm out," Daryl said then.

"Oh come on, one more round," Lydia begged.

"Nah. This game's more exhausting than my fever was."

"You're only exhausted because you're losing."

"Yeah, and you're cheating."

"No, I don't ."

"Yes, you do. How do you magically always land on those shortcuts? You for sure moved your piece when I wasn't looking."

"No, I didn't, but how about you, trying to cheat your way around the licorice space?"

Daryl made a scoffing sound.

"Stupid game makes me always landing there."

Connie giggled at all of this. It was almost like when she was a little girl and her and her sister played some games with their parents. Heated discussions about the games were a normal thing and it was always a nice family moment.

"You've seen her cheating, didn't you?" Daryl asked Connie.

"Hey don't try to bring her on your side." Lydia protested.

Connie saw them both cheating, but decided to take Lydia's side this time, so she made a sign for: "She didn't cheat."

"See, she's saying I didn't cheat." Lydia said then.

"No, she didn't say that. Did you?"

Connie just shrugged and couldn't help laughing.

"Oh, come on, you're on her side?"

"Let's play one more round and you can begin this time," Lydia said to Daryl, conciliatory. "It's easier to win when you begin."

"Ha! I knew it, you were cheating!" Daryl shouted out. "I ain't playing that no more."

Connie gave Daryl an encouraging look. He rolled his eyes but agreed to play one more round.

This time Daryl had more luck and won.

He was happy about it, but didn't want to show it. Both Lydia and Connie could see the content look on his face, though, and Connie thought it was adorable.

_Daryl, the Candy Land King_  she wrote and she and Lydia laughed. Daryl rolling his eyes once again, trying to hide his smile.

Suddenly they heard a knock on the door.

When they opened the door, Carol and Henry were standing there.


	22. Visit from the Kingdom

Lydia couldn't believe her eyes. She ran to Henry, hugged him and kissed him.

Daryl also stood up and greeted Carol, Connie smiled at her.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" Daryl asked.

"Well, someone just didn't stop asking when we will go visit you all," Carol said and looked at Henry; who blushed.

"And I also have some official business I have to talk about with Cyndie and Rachel."

Carol saw the Candy Land game on the table and gave Daryl a questioning look, who shrugged, looking away.

"Anyway, we only wanted to say 'hi' quickly. It's been a long journey and we'll have to get some rest now," Carol told them.

Henry and Lydia both looked a little bit disappointed.

"But we'll come see you tomorrow. Maybe we can talk then," Carol added.

"Sure", Daryl said.

They said goodbye and left.

The next day Henry and Carol came visiting them after breakfast. While Lydia and Henry left, because Lydia wanted to introduce Henry to her new best friend Vicky, Carol asked Daryl if she could talk to him outside. Daryl looked at Connie who smiled and signed "go". He put his jacket on while Carol left the house. Connie wrote something quickly and then kissed Daryl putting the note in Daryl's hand.

When Daryl left, Connie started to clean up the table and then make the dishes. Daryl seemed to be happy to see Carol again and she was alright with him talking to her alone. She knew they were close and it was good that he had friends. She missed her friends too.  
Now and then she glanced outside, where Daryl and Carol were sitting on a bench, talking. They were too far away to read their lips, but Connie felt a little sting in her heart when she glanced outside once again and saw that Daryl put his arm around Carol.

_They're just friends, relax_ , she told herself, but still her heart started to beat faster.

She never had been a jealous person, even though she loved her partners. She always thought jealousy was a silly thing and being afraid to lose her partner wasn't something she experienced often. But with Daryl it was different. Losing him would mean to lose everything and she couldn't imagine her life without him anymore. He was important to her and it hurt her to know, that there were people who probably knew him better than she did. Carol was one of them, she and Daryl understood each other without words. Connie couldn't shake the thought that Carol knew Daryl better than she did.

Daryl read Connie's note while he was walking outside.

_When you come back, I will probably need another prove that you're feeling well_ , it said.

Daryl chuckled. He turned around to Connie who was still standing on the doorstep.

"You'll get it," he promised her and she blew him a kiss.

Daryl blushed a little bit, when he realized that Carol saw the whole scene.

"She's worried, I had a fever a couple of days ago," he said, not knowing why he tried to explain himself.

"But you feel better now?" Carol asked.

"Yeah," he answered.

"That's good. Getting sick nowadays can be fatal. I will never forget how bad it was at the prison."

"Me neither. But it wasn't anything like that, just a little fever."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Who would have thought back then, that you will play Candy Land with your own family one day," Carol said then and smiled.

"Lydia wanted to play it, kinda talked me into it," Daryl said, rolling his eyes. "But yeah, I still don't know how all of it happened so fast."

"Hey, that's okay, you can admit it, you like to be a family man," Carol said, jogging his elbow.

Daryl blushed.

"I'm really happy for you," she continued. "After what happened with Rick and the rift between our communities. It was hurtful to see you isolating yourself. I was afraid I'm going to lose you and that you'll lose yourself just like I did back in the day. But it seems like someone saved you."

"Yeah, they both saved me. They still do. Every day."

"You deserve all of it," Carol said and Daryl nodded thankfully as they smiled at each other.

"So, how are things at the Kingdom?" He asked then.

Carol's smile disappeared.

"Not good." Her lips trembled slightly. "Everything is breaking apart."

Daryl said nothing, just looked at her in compassion.

"I came here to ask for help. But I think it won't be enough. I think we have to leave it."

"And Ezekiel?" Daryl asked, knowing Ezekiel wouldn't give up the Kingdom so easily.

"He's trying hard to hold it together. But he's losing it. He's losing people's trust too." She paused. "And things aren't that good between us either, since Alpha killed our people."

"Sorry," Daryl said and put his arm around her as he saw tears rising in her eyes.

"It's okay, maybe we can work it out. Can't throw it all away, right?" Carol brushed her tears away and tried to smile.

"But I'm really happy for you," she said then trying to change the topic and Daryl could see in her eyes that she meant what she said.

"That's all I've ever wished for you. That you find someone who sees your good heart."

Daryl felt a little bit embarrassed and muttered a "Thanks".

Carol was twisting the ring on her finger absently.

"So will you ask her?" She asked suddenly and Daryl didn't understand what she meant.

"Ask her what?"

"You know." Carol showed him her hand with her wedding ring.

"Oh, I dunno… Maybe," Daryl answered timidly.

"I hope, I will be invited to your wedding," Carol said, trying to smile again.

"Let's just survive this damn winter first," Daryl told her.

They sat again in silence for a while.

"So you need help, maybe me and Connie should come too," Daryl said thoughtfully. "Lydia could stay here with Vicky until we come back," he added.

"I would appreciate that, but you don't have to do it. You have your own family now, you need to take care of."

"But I've friends too and I wanna help."

They looked at each other and Carol nodded.

"I'll talk to Connie and we'll see what we can do," he said finally.

"Thank you." They hugged and Daryl went home while Carol went to Cyndie and Rachel.

When Daryl came back, Connie greeted him with a smile. Then Daryl redeemed his promise and they spent another wonderful time in bed.

_What were you talking about?_ Connie asked him then, writing the question on her notepad.

"There's some trouble at the Kingdom. They could use our help."

_And what about Lydia?_

"She could stay with Vicky and her mom for a while."

Daryl saw the concerned look on Connie's face.

"Ain't happy about leaving her either, but the Kingdom could fall and maybe we could help 'em saving it."

Connie thought about it for a while and agreed.

When Lydia came home they talked to her and she told them she was alright with staying with Vicky and her mom. Daryl had a bad feeling leaving her, but he wanted to help his friends, so they decided to leave with the others on the next day.

Late at night, when Lydia was sleeping already, Daryl and Connie packed their things and then they were sitting at the table. Both of them couldn't sleep.  
Daryl noticed Connie's concerned look.

"You're worried about tomorrow?" He asked her.

Connie shook her head.

"What is it?"

_I still know so little about you. Was thinking about it the whole day,_ she wrote.

Daryl frowned.

"You know enough", he told her softly.

_Not as much as your friends do,_ she wrote and when Daryl didn't answer she added:

_I don't even know what you did before the outbreak, besides living with your brother._

"Does it matter?" He asked her, glad that she couldn't hear the sadness in his voice.

Connie shrugged.

Daryl took her hands in his.

"We're together and that's all that counts. To hell with the past."

Connie didn't say anything and tried to smile.

"We should go to sleep", Daryl said then. "Will be a long day tomorrow."

They went to sleep and Connie tried to get rid of the bad thoughts, before she finally fell asleep in Daryl's arms.


	23. The Big Question

Daryl heard Connie's steady breathing next to him and he knew she was sleeping. He was lying awake, however, still thinking about his talk with Carol. Especially the part when she asked him, if he would ask Connie to marry him.

Daryl knew Connie was the one and only woman for him and it would be like that till the end of his days. But did they have to marry? Was that important? Would Connie want that? Should he propose to her and how? All of this marriage stuff was something he never thought about much until now and all of it sounded so cheesy to him.

And Connie was right, she didn't know much about him, except that he was abused as a kid and that he spent most of his life with his brother. But what she didn't know, was that there wasn't much to know besides it. He never had a successful job, like she did. She told him once that she was a passionate journalist before the outbreak and he was sure, if she would have met him back then, before the world changed, she wouldn't even have looked in his direction. And he wouldn't have looked at her either, since his brother would have probably mocked him for the rest of his life, if she showed interest for a woman like her. By no means they would have have been together back then.

But they were now and still he thought she was too good for him. He started to think in panic that maybe some day she would realize that. And then what? Should they really tighten their bond with a marriage, so she would probably feel obliged to stay with him even if she didn't want to anymore?

But what if she wanted to marry him and he never asked her? What if he would lose her because of that? Daryl lay a long time awake, thinking about all that, before he finally fell asleep.

On the next day they said goodbye to Lydia and thanked Vicky's mom for taking care of her in their absence. Henry begged to be allowed to stay too, but Carol reminded him of his obligations at the Kingdom, promising him they would come to Oceanside again, when things improved.

When they were on their way to the Kingdom, Daryl and Connie sat under a blanket together in the back of the carriage. There was still a lot of snow lying around and it was snowing slightly.

Their carriage was followed by another one with people from Oceanside. Connie was holding Daryl's arm, smiling at him and giving him loving looks now and then, and Daryl asked himself, why he was worried so much last night. She loved him, he could see that. He was also happy to see her being joyful again after she was so concerned the day before. She seemed to enjoy the snow and as she was admiring the winter landscape, Daryl was looking at her with love.

Carol glanced back to the two of them and smiled faintly.

"They look happy," Henry said.

"I think they are," Carol told him.

"I wished I could be with Lydia now," he sighed.

"You will see her again, don't worry." Carol smiled at him and Henry smiled back.

Connie signed "I like it," to Daryl pointing at the snow. Daryl looked around, narrowing his eyes.

He wanted to say, he didn't like it much, but decided not to. Connie wrote:

_It's Christmas soon, can't remember when we had snow on Christmas the last time._

"I don't like Christmas much," Daryl said and shrugged as he saw Connie rolling her eyes with a smile.

_Don't let Santa hear that,_ she wrote trying to make him laugh.

Daryl made a scoffing sound.

"Don't like him either. Asshole was always ignoring our house."

He laughed, meaning it as a joke, but then he saw that Connie's smile disappeared. He pulled her closer.

"Who knows, maybe he was holding back all the time, so that he can give me the best present one day." He paused and with a shy look in his eyes he added: "And that was you."

Connie looked at him, deeply moved and they kissed tenderly. She wanted to write something, but suddenly the snow intensified, making her notepad going wet. The wind blew strongly and it became a real snow storm. The snow was getting in their faces so they barely could see something.

"Hey!" Daryl shouted to Carol.

"Maybe we should seek some shelter till it's over?"

They changed their direction and drove towards a small town. They saw several walkers, but thanks to the cold weather and the snow the walkers were moving very slowly and some of them didn't move at all. The group didn't have any problems to fight them. They searched a couple of houses until they found a house with a fireplace. Daryl made a fire and the group sat in front of it to warm themselves. Connie and Daryl were holding each other close to get warm.

"Guess now you hate snow too, huh?" Daryl said to Connie who only laughed and shook her head.

They sat there for a while until Daryl had to answer the call of nature.

"I'll be right back," he said, leaving the room.

When he was finished, he went back through the hallway and noticed some pictures, hanging on the wall. They were all covered in dirt and dust. Daryl spit in his hand and wiped away the dirt off one of the picture frames, revealing a pretty photograph of a couple that was just married. The woman looked so happy and Daryl asked himself if Connie would look so happy as well, if she would marry him.

Suddenly he heard a rumbling sound and went in its direction. It was coming out of the bedroom and he could see that a window was open. The wind made it fly open and close with a clashing sound. Daryl went to it. On the way to the window he stumbled over something on the floor. After he closed the window, he looked down to see what it was, he stumbled over and he saw a small box with its content spread on the floor. It was a jewelry box and Daryl caught sight of a beautiful ring in the middle of other jewelry. He took the ring in his hand, examining it closely.

Was that a sign? After thinking for a short moment, he put it into his pocket and returned to the group.

They arrived at the Kingdom and there was a big mess. People were freezing, some were sick. There wasn't enough firewood and food. To gather some water people had to collect the snow to melt and boil it. The group separated to help the people at the Kingdom.

Daryl was helping Luke to gather some wood and cut it into firewood. They were mostly working in silence, until Luke finally said:

"So you and Connie, huh?"

Daryl nodded at it.

I'm happy for you guys," Luke told him.

"Thanks."

"Last time I saw her, she was so heartbroken over her sister. And now I can see her smiling again."

"You know her well, don't ya?" Daryl asked him after a long pause.

"Yes, I would say that's true."

"You think she's someone who... um… believes in marriage?" Daryl asked, while his face was turning red.

Luke looked at him closely.

"You're thinking about asking her the big question?" He said with surprise in his voice.

"I dunno yet," Daryl said scarcely audible. "I was thinking about it."

"Wow, that's awesome!" Luke clapped him on the shoulder.

"Well, I think she believes in marriage. I know she was engaged once, even if didn't work out." Luke saw the anxiety in Daryl's eyes and continued hastily: "Doesn't mean it won't work out for you guys. As far as I can tell, she really likes you."

"Guess I should learn how to ask her in ASL," Daryl said with a timid smile. "Just in case."

Luke nodded and thought for a while.

"I know the sign for 'married' is this." He showed it to Daryl.

"But I could ask Yumiko, she knows ASL better than me."

Daryl thanked him.

All people worked together several days, trying to make things better at the Kingdom, but they saw that it had no use, things were only getting worse, so one evening they finally decided to leave the Kingdom on the next day and to bring the people to Hilltop.

Daryl was lying awake again, after he had spent some joyful moments with Connie.

Luke taught him the sign for "Will you marry me?" in the afternoon and Daryl hoped he would find the courage to finally ask her.


	24. Ice

When Connie woke up, she felt tired and even though she had slept the whole night trough, she felt like she didn't sleep at all. She also didn't feel well. They packed all their things and had some breakfast. Daryl was glancing at her nervously now and then and was silent most of the time. After the breakfast Connie felt even worse. She had a feeling of nausea and it was so bad, she thought she had to vomit. She wondered if maybe she was getting ill or maybe… She desperately started to think when she had her last period and realized she should have had it a couple of weeks ago. Not that it always came regularly but this was unusual and then the nausea…

Before the outbreak Connie was passionate about her job and she didn't think about having a family of her own for a long time. But about two years before the world changed, she started to desperately want a baby. She also met a man at that time with whom she thought it would work. They were engaged and even if he told her, he didn't want to have children, she thought she could persuade him to change his mind. However, it didn't work out and that was the reason why they broke up. After that she was alone and enjoyed being single, even if the wish for a child was always on her mind.

But now it was probably happening. She knew the risks but she thought it was worth it and she was certain, Daryl would want to have children too. They never talked about it, but the way how he acted with Lydia, Henry and Judith, made her think that. So she started to wish it would happen.

She wanted to tell Daryl about the possibility immediately and she saw him standing not far away, starring at Earl with baby Adam in his arms. Tara came to him.

"He's adorable," Tara said looking at Adam, Connie read her lips from the distance.

"Yeah," Daryl said with a little smile.

"Maybe soon you will have one of your own." Tara jogged his elbow.

"I hope not," Daryl said and Connie frowned because she didn't expect that.

"We have Lydia I think that's enough to worry about," he continued and Connie felt disappointed. She was shocked that she was so wrong about him. Thoughts about her last relationship came back and how it broke apart. She didn't want to lose Daryl, but she didn't know if she could live with it, if he never wanted kids, since it was always her wish and she could be pregnant now.

Connie felt tears rising in her eyes and she went away, so nobody would see her crying.

She couldn't see that Daryl said, he would be worried to death for Connie, because pregnancy was so risky nowadays and especially with the Whisperers around. He couldn't lose her.

When Connie calmed down, she went back to the carriages. Daryl came to her.

"Here you are," he said and he seemed to be excited and nervous at the same time about something, so he didn't notice the grave look on her face.

"I have to talk to you," he told her and he wanted to take her hand, but she moved her hand away and he frowned.

"What is it?" He asked realizing she was looking sad. She took out her notepad and tried to stay calm but her hand trembled while she was writing.

_I want to spend some time with my friends. I'll go with them to Hilltop._

She ripped the note off her notepad and gave it to Daryl, not waiting for his reaction as she walked away.

Daryl stayed back, startled, with the note in his hand.

She went to her friends and sat in the horse wagon with them. She felt sorry for treating Daryl like that, but it hurt her too much to be around him at the moment.

"What is it?" Yumiko signed when she saw the look on Connie's face.

"It's nothing, I'm just tired," Connie signed back.

Luke frowned and looked back to Daryl who was still standing there starring at their wagon. He asked himself what happened but didn't dare to say something.

The horse wagons started to move towards Hilltop. They were all silent and Connie was lost in her thoughts. She didn't know what to do, it seemed like the world was falling apart around her. Her friends seemed to notice that something was wrong, but no one said anything. After a couple of hours they made a little stop to give the horses a break and discuss the route. Daryl went to Connie, who was standing next to her friends.

"Can we talk?" Daryl asked. Connie sighed, but agreed, so they walked away and she crossed her arms.

"Look, I've a feeling we're fighting and I don't even know why," Daryl said with a helpless expression in his eyes. Connie took out her notepad out and took a deep breath. She wrote hastily, feeling the anger and sadness rising in her again.

_I don't know much about you, but I wished I would have known that you don't want to have children_

Daryl read it, narrowing his eyes.

"Why you think…" he started but then he remembered.

"You've seen me talking to Tara."

Connie nodded.

"Look, I didn't mean… I… I dunno," he stammered, not knowing what to say.

"I'm just worried, you know. If you were… I don't want to... but you ain't, are you?"

Connie didn't say anything and Daryl's face went pale as he took this for a "yes". There was fear in his eyes.

She rolled her eyes and started to walk away, but Daryl grabbed her arm.

"Hey, I'm sorry. Let's talk just about it," he said.

She freed herself and wrote:  _There's no need for talking. The shocked expression on your face is_ _very_ _telling._

She walked away, but Daryl went after her, so she started to run and Daryl ran too. She could feel the pain in her heart and tears were clouding her eyes. The cold snow was hitting her face, but she ran, ran as fast as she could. She turned around and saw that Daryl stopped a couple of meters behind her, so she stopped too for a moment. He was shouting something and frantically signing to her. She recognized the sign "danger" and he was pointing with his finger to the ground. She looked down and saw that underneath the snow she was standing on, there was an ice layer, which began to crack slowly under her feet. She tried to move towards Daryl, but with every step the ice cracked a bit more. Daryl was reaching out his hands to her, still screaming something. Her heart was racing and she started to panic.


	25. Voices

Daryl was so afraid, his thoughts were racing. He wanted to run to Connie, but he knew, if he did, he would probably break through the ice. So he just desperately stretched out his arms, shouting to her to come back. She started walking towards him, the ice was cracking and Daryl hoped and prayed, she would make it back safely. She was walking slowly towards him and their fingertips touched slightly as she stretched out her arms too. The ice broke under her feet, but Daryl was able to grab her arms and pull her closer, so she made it back to the safe ground. He was holding her tight in his arms, his heart pondering, and she was pressing her body against his. They looked at each other and then Daryl felt a hand grabbing his foot. A walker came out from under the snow and Daryl pushed Connie away.

"Go," he told her as more and more walkers started to rise from the snow. He killed the walker holding his foot, but then another one appeared from under the snow. Connie didn't walk away, she was fighting the walkers too. Daryl saw one walker behind her back, so he ran to it and pulled it away from her. The walker grabbed his arms, and while Daryl was trying to get rid of it, he tripped and fell backwards. Together with the walker he rolled down a small hill and landed on the ice. It cracked and before he was able to stand up, it broke and the cold water swallowed him. The shock of the sudden cold drove through his body. The walker was still near him and Daryl had to push it away. He was sinking to the ground, his clothes felt heavy on his body and they were pulling him down. He tried to go back up, he saw the light above him, but his limbs were numb and his arms and legs barely obeyed his orders. He was in panic so he tried to move as fast as he could, but it seemed to be an endless way back to the surface. He realized he couldn't hold his breath much longer, and swallowed some of the cold water. The awful feeling of drowning, brought back his memories again. While trying to come back to the surface, he saw several pictures before his inner eye.

He saw his drunk father's angry face and his voice echoed in his ears: "How you like that, you little asshole."

_Life is short_ , he saw, written on Connie's notepad.

"Will you ask her?" He heard Carol's voice and he saw the beautiful ring he found.

He had to go back, he had to go back to Connie, so he tried to fight for her with everything he had left, but before he reached the surface he passed out.

Then he saw another picture. Connie's face. It was all blurry and he didn't know if he was dreaming or dead. He started to cough and he spit some water out, feeling a stinging pain in his chest. He knew then, he was alive. Connie was there, he could now see her clearly. She helped him to lift his upper body a little bit from the ground and he was still coughing, trying to get rid of all the water in his lungs.

Many people from the group were there too, they came back and killed the walkers. Connie's clothes were partly wet and Nate, his old friend who traveled with them several weeks ago, was the one who saved him. His clothes were soaking wet just like Daryl's. Daryl thanked him and they all walked back to the horses. Connie was holding Daryl close. Daryl changed his clothes in one of the wagons and he was still freezing as he was sitting there with a blanket over his shoulders.

Connie came to him and he moved, so she could sit down next to him.

"I'm so sorry," he said but she shook her head.

"No, I'm sorry," she signed.

Both of them had tears in their eyes. And Daryl just wanted to be close to her and it seemed like she wanted that too. She held his arm and put her head on his shoulder. Neither of them moved and they both just enjoyed to be together again.

They made a stop at the Sanctuary, to spend the night there.

Ezekiel gave Daryl a bottle with some moonshine in it, to help him to feel warmer.

"Thanks, I really need that right now," Daryl said, his hands still shaking as he took a couple of sips.

_Could use some of it too,_  Connie wrote. He knew she didn't mean to take it, but moved his arm and held the bottle far away from her.

"No way. That's not good for the baby," he told her and she smiled, tearing up.

_I'm not even 100% sure, if I'm pregnant, s_ he wrote.

"But you could be, right?" Daryl asked.

Connie nodded.

_I really want to have a baby,_ she wrote.  _I thought you wanted the same, that's why I was so sad._

"Listen, it's not that I don't want to have kids, it's just that I'm worried about you." He swallowed, holding back some tears. "I couldn't take to lose you," he added.

_I can't lose you_   _too_ , Connie wrote, also being very emotional. _When I saw you falling through the ice, I was so afraid. It was so stupid to be mad at you._

"You weren't stupid, I was stupid. And we should've talked about all of it before we... You know."

Connie smiled. Daryl pulled her closer.

"Next time you mad at me, just hit me or something, okay? Don't run away."

Connie nodded.

_Next time you decide to take a swim, please do it during summer time._

Daryl smiled faintly.

_Preferable with me,_ she added with a smile.

_And preferable naked._

Daryl couldn't help grinning at this, but then he looked around in embarrassment, afraid that somebody could have read what Connie wrote.

Suddenly he remembered that he had the ring in his pocket when he fell trough the ice. He was afraid, that he maybe lost it during his 'swim' and as he went back to search his wet pants, his fear came true. The ring wasn't there anymore.

"Shit," he said and Connie, who came after him, looked at him with a questioning look.

"Oh, it's nothing," he hastened to say. He was so disappointed about the loss of the ring. He regretted that he didn't gave it to her earlier.

In the next morning the group continued their way. Connie was always holding Daryl's hand like she was afraid to let him go. And he didn't mind that. He didn't want to be separated from her ever again.

When they arrived at Hilltop in the evening, Daryl and Connie were sitting with some other people in Maggie's office, warming themselves by the fireplace. Daryl saw Eugene coming out of a small room. Eugene established a radio there, so the communities could communicate. Daryl took Connie's hand and led her into the room, which was very small but at least they were alone there. She looked around, narrowing her eyebrows.

"Just wanted to spend some time with you alone," Daryl told her.

Connie smiled and then started to kiss him. He enjoyed it for a moment, but then he softly pushed her away.

"We can do that too, but first I wanted to talk." Connie nodded. He took a couple of breaths thinking about how to start. Then he told her everything. Everything about his past, how he never did something useful with his life until the apocalypse started. He told her about Atlanta, the Prison, the Saviors. The people he found and the people he lost. It took a long time and Connie was watching his lips closely trying not to miss a thing. When he was finished he finally said:

"That's basically it, not much of an impressive life." Connie looked at him and he was a little bit afraid that she wouldn't love him anymore.

"You ain't going to change your mind about me, are you?" he asked insecurely.

She started to write something and he peeked over her shoulder with curiosity. He read:

_Nothing is going to make me change my mind!_

This made him smile. Then she added, quoting him:

_To hell with the past._

"I love you," she signed and he signed: "I love you too."

Then he added: "If you are.. um... then you should know, even if I'm worried, I would really like to have a baby with you." She smiled and hugged him.

He was thinking if this was the right moment to ask her.

"I know, it's probably not the best moment but..." Daryl stopped. Should he get on his knee? And what was the sing in ASL again? He tried to remember, but he was so nervous, the ASL sign Luke told him, seemed to be completely erased from his mind.

Connie was looking at him waiting that he continued and his heart started to beat faster, his hands were all sweaty. He cleared his throat, but before he could say something, he heard a cracking sound coming from the radio.

He narrowed his eyebrows and Connie looked at him and then followed his look. Daryl went to the radio which gave a cracking sound again and then he could hear someone talking, but he couldn't understand the words through all the cracking. He looked at Connie and told her there was someone on the radio.

"Hello?" Daryl asked. And then his heart nearly stopped beating because he heard a familiar voice.

"Hello, hello? Can anybody hear me? Here is Rick Grimes. Answer please."


	26. Signs

"Hello? Rick? Rick?" Daryl's voice sounded hoarse. He grabbed the microphone and it almost slid through the fingers of his shacking hands.

"Rick, can you hear me?" He asked louder.

The voice on the other end said something, but Daryl couldn't understand it. The radio was making cracking sounds again. He turned some switches, but there was only a whistling sound after that and then silence.

"Damn it!" Daryl ran out of the room.

"Where's Eugene?" He shouted.

Eugene came out with a surprised look on his face.

"The radio, there was..." Daryl was out of breath.

"I heard Rick."

"What?" Everyone looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"I heard him, I tell you, do something to the radio, maybe he's still there."

Eugene went into the room, Daryl behind him, followed by Connie, who didn't quite understand what was going on, and then the others came too. Soon the little room was so crowded, there was no place to turn.

Eugene tried to find the frequency where the voice came from but there was only a whistling sound.

Daryl tried to turn some switches too and almost threw the radio off the table, when he was bending over it. Eugene told him to move back. He tried a couple of times but it had no use.

"Well, whatever dimension Rick was calling from, he's gone," Eugene said and Daryl looked at him, narrowing his eyes which made Eugene back off slightly.

"Daryl..." Carol started with a concerned look.

"I ain't crazy," he cut her off. "I heard what I heard. It was him."

He looked around and most of the people in the room were starring at him, worried.

"Whatever," Daryl scoffed and stormed out of the room. He started to doubt himself. Did he really hear Rick? Was that even possible that he was alive? At least he had never found his body. But wasn't that crazy, that Rick called Hilltop right in the moment when he was there with Connie? He looked at her, feeling sorry that he had forgotten about her for a while. However, she just smiled and touched his arm.

Would she want to marry a man who was probably about to lose his mind?

_Wherever you are, brother,_ Daryl told him in his mind.  _When I see you again, I'm gonna kick your ass for interrupting my proposal._

They spent a couple of days in Hilltop and Daryl was checking the radio every day but there wasn't any sign of Rick. When it stopped snowing and the snow began to melt, they decided to relocate some people from Hilltop to Alexandria. Daryl and Connie decided to return to Oceanside because of Lydia. Henry asked Carol if he could go with them.

"We talked about it," Carol said in a strict voice.

"But mom," Henry took her arm and went with her in a quiet corner.

"I know things between you and dad aren't so good recently," he said quietly.

"Henry..."

"I'm not stupid, I can see it. Maybe… Maybe you should have some time alone to work things out."

Carol narrowed her eyes.

"Nice try, Mister," she said. But after she quickly looked at Ezekiel, she sighed.

"Alright, if Connie and Daryl agree, you can go with them."

Henry cheered and hugged her.

They asked Connie and Daryl, who didn't mind to take Henry along. So soon they said their goodbyes and left Hilltop.

The journey to Oceanside wasn't a difficult one. They barely saw any walkers and when they arrived there, the place was in the same shape, they left it, but with far less snow left. Lydia was happy to see Daryl and Connie again, she even hugged them both first, although she saw that Henry was with them and they both were a little bit surprised, about that. Dog, who stayed with her all the time, seemed to be happy too. It was a happy reunion, everyone was smiling, Dog was running around and licking their hands.

It was late in the evening and they were all tired, so they went to bed. Lydia was so excited, she spoke like a waterfall, telling them about everything what happened in their absence and she also told them there would be a big dinner on Christmas Eve in two days.

When she fell asleep, Connie and Daryl were still awake.

_You're still thinking about Rick?_ Connie wrote.

Daryl nodded.

"I thought I heard him," he told her. "It was his voice."

She wrote:  _If he's still alive, you'll find him._

Then she put her arms around him and he pulled her closer.

"Or maybe I'm just losing my mind," he muttered mostly to himself.

On the next day Daryl was thinking about the proposal. He wanted to make sure that nothing got in the way this time. He was pacing up and down, Henry and Lydia were sitting at the table outside, watching him. Connie wasn't with them, she was visiting her friend Martha.

"What is it? You're nervous about something?" Henry asked him finally.

Daryl was biting his nails. He thought for a while and then he said:

"You think you can take care of yourselves for a while? I'm taking Connie to the beach."

"Sure," Henry said.

Lydia was watching Daryl closely, she could see his nervousness and was curious what was causing it.

"What is it?" She asked him.

"What? It's nothing," Daryl tried to play cool, but then he saw in the eyes of them both that they didn't believe him.

He sat down.

"Alright," he said. "I'm gonna ask her..."

"You're going to ask her to marry you?" Lydia said out loud, even before he finished his sentence. She must have guessed it already.

"Psst!" Daryl looked around, afraid Connie was nearby and would hear it, but she still wasn't back.

"I'm planning to, yeah," he continued then silently.

"That's great!" Henry said.

"I'm so happy for you!" Lydia told him.

They both wanted to hug Daryl but he suddenly saw Connie in the distance and stood up.

"Don't say anything!" he warned them in a silent voice.

When Connie came to them, the kids were both grinning at her and she was a bit surprised, but smiled back.

Daryl told her that he wanted to take a walk on the beach with her and she agreed. They went away.

She looked back one more time and Henry and Lydia were still both grinning and looking at them. Daryl looked back too and narrowed his eyes, so they quickly turned away.

_What's up with them, why are they so happy?_  Connie wrote.

"Oh, I guess... they're happy to see each other again." Daryl said hesitantly.

Connie examined Daryl's face and he knew she must have noticed something. The expression in her eyes told her that. He was such a bad liar.

They went along the beach and Daryl tried again to remember the right sign for asking her to marry him. He realized happily, that the memories of the sign were back again and his heart started to beat so fast, he thought it would break his chest. He also had an uneasy feeling in his stomach and he thought for a moment that he had to vomit. He took a deep breath.

Connie was looking at the ocean, so he walked in front of her. He went down on one knee and Connie raised her eyebrow. He closed his eyes, trying to remember the right sign and he was also too anxious to look at Connie's reaction. He took another deep breath and made the sign: "Will you marry me?"  
He opened his eyes to slits and saw that she was starring at him. She was surprised and held her hand in front of her chest. Then she went on her knees and kissed him.

"So that's a 'yes'?" he asked, still nervous.

Connie nodded, signed "yes" and kissed him again. She had tears of joy in her eyes.

Daryl was so relieved and happy, he was smiling so hard, his jaws even started to hurt a little and he felt some tears filling his eyes.

"Sorry I had a ring, but kinda lost it during my diving into the lake."

Connie shook her head, telling him it was okay.

"I get you one, I promise. Just didn't want to wait with the proposal any longer."

_I don't need a ring, I'm glad I didn't lost you back then. You are all I need._ She wrote, her hand trembling with excitement. Daryl got up and held her hand, helping her getting up too and then they went back, still holding hands.

When they got back, Henry and Lydia were already waiting and greeted them joyfully. Dog was walking up and down between their feet. They didn't dare to say anything but Daryl gave them a slight nod, so they knew he asked her. They hugged them both, and congratulated them. Everyone was very excited.

Suddenly Daryl heard a strange noise. It sounded like a helicopter and he thought he started to imagine things.

"You hear that?" he asked Henry and Lydia and looked up in the sky.

"Yes, something makes that noise."

All of them looked up and they saw something in the distance, flying by. Daryl's eyes widened, he pointed into the sky.

"You see that, right?" He asked Henry, Connie and Lydia who were looking up, afraid he was really beginning to lose his mind, but they all nodded.

"It's a damn helicopter," Daryl said not believing his own words.


	27. Christmas

The helicopter vanished as fast as it appeared. Daryl followed it with his eyes, trying to memorize the direction where it disappeared. He looked around. There were several of Oceanside's inhabitants outside, also starring into the sky. They were all startled for a moment and then everyone was talking loudly. Daryl wished he could follow the helicopter, something inside him was screaming, it had to be connected to Rick's voice, he heard back at the Hilltop. But the helicopter flew away so fast and he knew he wouldn't be able to follow it.

They were standing outside for a while discussing what the helicopter could mean. Most of the Oceansiders were concerned, since they lost their trust in people after what happened with the Saviors and even after so many years, they still didn't trust new people and thought the helicopter could mean some sort of trouble.

After some time Daryl and the others went in and had some dinner. Daryl was so lost in his thoughts, he barely managed to eat something or to follow what Lydia and Henry were talking about. Connie took his hand and looked at him intensely. He looked back at her and smiled faintly.

_What a day,_ he thought. Part of him still couldn't realize that this woman agreed to marry him. It seemed to be as unreal as the appearance of the helicopter.

Henry and Lydia were still talking about the helicopter. While Lydia was anxious and thought it could mean trouble, because they were so many bad people out there in the world, Henry was hopeful.

"Just imagine there's still a normal life going on somewhere. Maybe they even found a cure."

Lydia rolled her eyes.

"That's ridiculous, there is no cure," she said.

"You don't know that, there could be. Maybe some years from now on, the world will be as it was before the outbreak," Henry told her, still hopeful.

"You're such a dreamer," she said and smiled.

"I'm not. Daryl what do you think about it?" Henry asked him.

"What?" Daryl turned his head to Henry.

"I dunno," he said then. He didn't want to share his thoughts about Rick, since people already thought he lost his mind, after he said he heard Rick's voice on the radio.

"Maybe we'll never find out," he said then, gravely and Lydia and Henry both went silent. They could see Daryl had a sad expression on his face.

"So what's about the wedding? You will marry in a church?" Lydia asked, trying to change the topic and cheer him up.

"Or will you just say your vows and exchange rings, like my parents did?" Henry added.

Daryl looked at Connie he didn't think about it much, but something official seemed to be right.

He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"We'll see," he said.

Daryl couldn't sleep there was too much on his mind. The wedding, the helicopter and Rick's voice on the radio. He desperately needed some time on his own to process all this. When morning finally came, he decided to go out to hunt. Dog woke up and followed him, as he sneaked out of the bedroom.

It was a cold but calm morning, most of the people were still asleep when Daryl left and went into the woods. He was going into the direction where the helicopter disappeared. He knew he wouldn't find it and he didn't know why he even went into that direction.

He searched so long for Rick and even as years went by and his mind was telling him that he wouldn't find him, he couldn't stop looking. He realized it was the same thing with the helicopter now. He desperately wanted to find it, to see if Rick was there or people who knew Rick, but his mind was trying to tell him that this was impossible.  
Maybe he should just let it be. He had Connie and his own family now. But hell, he wished so much he could tell Rick all about it, he wished he would see his face when he introduced him to them. Daryl looked up in the sky.

_I wished you could be here, Rick,_ He told him in his mind.

In the meantime Connie woke up. She was surprised that Daryl wasn't at her side and she became anxious. But then she found a little note lying there.

_Went out hunting. Will be back soon._

She took a deep breath and was relieved.

They started the preparations for the dinner early. There were almost 40 people living in the community, so they gathered in one of the biggest houses, preparing the food. Lydia, Henry and Vicky were decorating the room with anything they could find. They also put some tables together, so everyone would be able to sit there. They had a lot of fun and Martha and Connie were smiling all the time. Connie told Martha about the proposal and Martha was so happy for them, she had tears in her eyes and congratulated her.

"Imagine Daryl in a wedding suit," Lydia giggled.

"You could marry at the beach. Wouldn't that be romantic? Maybe a little ceremony with Father Gabriel present," Henry suggested.

Connie thought about it all. She wasn't that religious, but she thought it would be nice to have something official. She also wanted to have her friends present, since they didn't even knew about it. But then she realized that someone must have shown Daryl the sign for the proposal, so maybe some of her friends knew.

They were busy with the preparations all day and when it was late in the afternoon and Daryl still wasn't back, Connie started to worry. She was glancing out of the window, hoping to see him. After another anxious hour, he finally showed up in front of the house.

She ran outside to him.

"Hey," he said. "I brought something for dinner." He showed her a couple of rabbits he had shot.

After they prepared the rabbits, which were a delicious addition to the dinner, they all gathered around the table. Cyndie gave a little speech about how thankful she was for their little community and that they all were still together and had enough food.  
Then they started to eat.

It was a vivid dinner with everyone talking, laughing and Connie felt so happy about it. She looked at Daryl who had also a little smile on his face.  
When they finished eating, everyone was still sitting at the table, talking.

_What do you think about Christmas now?_ She wrote and showed Daryl the note.

He didn't say anything, just shrugged, but there was a little smile on his lips which he couldn't hide.

_Admit it, you like it!_ Connie continued.

Daryl looked down for a moment.

"Guess I do," he said then. "This is much better than watching stupid TV shows, hoping my drunk dad doesn't wake up or doing whatever stupid shit my brother tells me to do."

He looked at Connie took her hand.

"I don't have a present for you, though," he admitted shyly. Connie smiled and hugged him.

_You gave me my present yesterday, remember?_ She wrote.

Daryl grinned.

"So, um... how you want it to be? You want us to marry in a church or something?"

Connie chuckled. She could see that he frowned at the word "church" a little bit.

_No, I would be fine without that. But it would be nice to have something official with all our friends present._

Daryl nodded, his expression showed that he wanted this too.

They kissed and Daryl put an arm around her shoulder. She leaned on him and then they sat there, watching people who were still talking, laughing and singing some Christmas carols. Daryl and Connie sat in silence, enjoying the joyful atmosphere and the presence of each other.

In the next morning Daryl was the one who woke up to an empty bed. When he went out of the bedroom, he saw Connie coming through the front door. From the expression on her face he could see that she must have felt sick. She gave him a faint smile, when she saw him. He went to her and patted her back.

"You good?" He asked and she nodded.

"Morning sickness, huh?" He noticed and she just shrugged and tried to smile. He hugged her from behind and then put his hands on her belly, she smiled and he kissed her temple. He was starting to get used to the thought that they would have a baby together. Oceanside seemed like a calm place, maybe it would work out.  
But Daryl immediately regretted his thoughts, as he suddenly heard people talking loudly outside. They seemed to be shocked about something. He told Connie to stay in the house and went outside.

Some people with anxious faces were standing out there. He went to Cyndie and asked her what was going on.

"The guards from our outposts came back. They said a herd is coming." She paused for a moment. "It's a very big one, too big to fight it and it's impossible to lead it away. I'm afraid, we have to leave this place."


	28. The Herd

Connie glanced nervously out of the window, when Daryl came back running into the house.

"Pack your things, we gotta go!"

Connie looked at him in surprise, not believing what he just said.

"A big herd's coming."

Lydia came out of the bedroom, rubbing her eyes and asked what was going on.

"We gotta leave. A herd's coming, it might overrun this place," Daryl told her.

Lydia was suddenly wide awake.

"It's … it's them," she stuttered. "It's her, she's coming for me."

Her face went pale. Daryl looked at her.

"We don't know that yet. Could be just a normal herd."

"It's them," Lydia said again and Connie felt sorry for her. She went to her and touched her shoulder.

They hastily started to pack some things and went outside.

Most people were outside already, they were getting the horses and wagons ready. Henry came running. He slept in another house and was confused about all the fuss. He hugged Lydia who was still disturbed about the news. Their group helped the others to load the supplies in the wagons and it took them a while. When they were ready to leave, Lydia was still standing in front of their house, not moving.

Connie went to her and signed that they had to go, but Lydia only shook her head. Daryl and Henry also came to her.

"Come on, let's go." Daryl wanted to shove her towards the gate, but she pulled away from him.

"I should stay," she said anxiously. "It's all my fault. I should stay. I only put you in danger."

Connie and Daryl exchanged a look. They knew Lydia was right about them being in danger, but she was clearly not the one to be blamed for it.

"Hey, we talked about it," Daryl started and Connie saw how he tried calm her down.

He put a hand on Lydia's shoulder.

"We're your family now. And if they try something, they'll have to deal with all of us."

Henry and Connie nodded and Lydia's eyes filled with tears.

"But that's why I don't want them to hurt you. What if they..." she couldn't finish the sentence her voice broke when she was crying.

"Don't cry, please. They won't hurt us," Henry said and hugged her.

"He's right, but we gotta leave now, okay?" Daryl said and Lydia nodded, still not fully convinced, but Henry took her hand and they left Oceanside.

They walked a long time in silence, Henry was still holding Lydia's hand. Connie looked at her and she could see that Lydia was still sad. Connie didn't know what to do. She wanted to comfort her, but she knew, no matter what she might told her, it wouldn't help. She hoped that the herd wasn't the Whisperers, but her feeling told her that Lydia was right.

When they finally stopped to take a break, Connie could see that most of the people were confused and scared. Cyndie and Rachel were discussing how to proceed, but they didn't know what to do either.

Daryl was desperately trying to figure something out too, Connie could tell from his looks.

"Maybe I've an idea," Daryl said after some time. "But you ain't gonna like it."

Cindy told him that any plan was good now.

"We could go to the Sanctuary. It has walls and a roof. Can think about how to proceed, when we're there."

Connie could see Cyndie was frowning when Daryl mentioned the Sanctuary and she remembered what Martha told her about the Saviors. They still weren't over the terrible things the Saviors did to them and the Sanctuary belonged to the Saviors once. But not having a real choice and with the children and old women tired already, they decided to go there.

Cyndie also decided that some of them should stay behind to watch the movement of the herd, so they could warn the others in time, if it was moving towards the Sanctuary.

When they reached the Sanctuary it was night already. They made themselves as comfortable as it was possible there and started discussing further plans.

"Maybe we should split up," Daryl suggested "We could send some people to Hilltop and some to Alexandria. The rest could stay here. With the supplies we have with us, they could hold on here for a while."

Cyndie agreed.

When most of the people were asleep, Daryl was still awake, sitting by a window. Connie was lying next to Lydia and Henry on a blanket on the floor, but couldn't sleep either, so she went to him. She sat next to him and he put an arm around her.

_So what now?_ She wrote.  _You want to go with the others to Alexandria tomorrow?_

Daryl looked at her and nodded with a faint smile, because she guessed his thoughts.

"Yeah, I thought about it. We could talk to Michonne and the others about the herd. Decide what to do."

They both looked towards Lydia, who was sleeping in Henry's arms or pretending that she was.

"Poor girl," Daryl said. "She doesn't deserve that shit, but sure as hell, she's going to blame herself for what's happening to Oceanside."

_We took her in, it's on us too. On me actually._

Connie couldn't help but feeling guilty about putting them all in danger, when she wanted to take Lydia with them. But she still wouldn't have done it differently, if she had a second chance. The girl deserved a home and a family.

"We're all in it, she's our kid," Daryl said and Connie was touched by his words.

"I'm glad Oceanside doesn't blame her, though. They see her as one of them."

Daryl was right, the Oceansiders took Lydia in, despite knowing everything about the Whisperers. And they didn't blame her for the herd coming to Oceanside which might be controlled by them.

"And maybe it's nothing, just a big herd. We encountered a big herd like that back in the day, doesn't have to be them."

Connie looked at him and she could see in his eyes that he didn't believe that, just like she didn't.

Daryl was silent for a while.

"But if it's them, then that bitch broke her own rules. We didn't cross her borders, but she did."

_If she controls that herd, she can do whatever she wants,_ Connie wrote.

"No, she can't. If she tries anything, we'll show her. I ain't gonna let anyone hurt you or the kids."

Connie smiled but had an uneasy feeling in her gut. She didn't want to have a war.

"It's gonna be alright," Daryl told her as if he had read her thoughts.

"No matter what, we'll be alright." He kissed her and pulled her closer. They sat like that for some time before they went to sleep.

On the next day they went to Alexandria. It was a sunny day and they were walking slowly, everyone was lost in thoughts. Connie was holding Daryl's warm hand and her heart was happy and anxious at once. There were two women from Oceanside with them. When they got close to Alexandria, one of the women stopped, looking through the trees.

"Hey, what's that?" She shouted back at them. Connie and Daryl came closer and also looked through the trees. It was a very strange sight. On a big meadow they saw a helicopter surrounded by several walkers. Daryl ran to it and Connie followed him quickly. They killed the walkers and inspected them, but it weren't Whisperers. When they made sure there wasn't anyone around, Daryl went into the helicopter, but soon he came out and said he didn't find anything. Connie could see the disappointed look on his face.

"It looks like it ain't here that long. No matter who came with it, could be in Alexandria."

Connie's heart was beating fast as they continued their way towards Alexandria. She didn't know what to expect. Who could have come with the helicopter? Maybe bad people? What should they do then? Daryl's steps became faster and faster when they came closer to Alexandria and Connie had to concentrate to keep up with him. They were almost running when they reached the gates of Alexandria.

When they went through the gates, Judith ran to them in excitement, she was looking at Daryl and was babbling so fast, Connie could hardly follow her lips movement. Connie looked at Daryl and she saw that his eyes widened and his face went pale. He was starring at someone in the distance. Connie followed his stare and saw a man with short hair and a beard. He was wearing a jacket above his shirt, a jeans and western boots. He was holding RJ's hand and when he saw them, he seemed to have turned in a pillar of salt just like Daryl. Both of them stood there like that for a couple of moments, just starring at each other. Then the man came closer and Connie could see a charming smile on his face.


	29. Reunion

In the first moment Daryl thought he was dreaming. When he saw Rick standing there in the distance, everything around him seemed to become blurry. Daryl saw Judith running to him and talking, but he couldn't make out the words. He could only stand there and stare at Rick.  
Daryl had seen him so many times in his dreams and he saved him in his dreams over and over again. But he dreamed about losing Rick too. Sometimes Rick was alive in his dreams and sometimes he was a walker. Sometimes he couldn't find him at all, just like he couldn't do it when he was awake. But in none of those dreams Rick was as real as he was now.  
Rick was walking towards him with the familiar smile on his face. He stopped in front of him and Daryl saw that his lips trembled and there were tears in his eyes. Rick lifted his hand, making a gesture he always made when he was emotional and which was so familiar to Daryl. Daryl felt how hot tears started to fill his eyes. Rick tried to say something but he couldn't and Daryl had lost his voice as well, because there was a big lump in his throat. They were just standing there for a moment before Daryl finally found something to say.

"Is this real… are you..." Daryl stuttered and then went silent again. His own voice sounded so foreign to him.

"Good to see you... Daryl," Rick said and smiled. They nodded at each other and then Rick hugged Daryl.

The touch felt real and still Daryl was afraid it could be only a dream.

* * *

"So it was you on the radio," Daryl said.

They were all sitting at the table. RJ was sitting on Rick's lap, Michonne was holding Rick's hand and Judith was standing by his side. Rick's family surrounded him like they didn't want to let him go again. For some time everything else was forgotten, it was only Daryl's and Rick's family having dinner together, just like it was always this way.

"Yeah," Rick said. "I saw that herd and I tried to warn you. I didn't know, if I would reach anyone, but I tried."

Daryl nodded.

"I knew it was you. The others thought I've gone nuts, when I told them I heard your voice."

"I can't blame them, you all thought I was dead and then I suddenly started talking to you on the radio." Rick smiled and Connie touched Daryl's hand. Daryl gave her a quick loving look.

"Yeah, could only be you, picking the worst damn moment in this world for that," Daryl continued.

Michonne chuckeled.

"So he interrupted you two while you were, you know... busy with something?"

"He did," Daryl said, but then he realized what Michonne really meant, when all the others started laughing.

"Stop laughing, it was nothing like that," Daryl said, his face turning red.

"Then what?" Michonne asked. Daryl looked at Connie who was inspecting his face. He never told her that he tried to propose to her once before he heard Rick's voice.

"It was nothing, just forget it," Daryl hastened to say.

"Oh come on, tell us why you were in that room," Rick said and Daryl felt embarrassed because he knew he wouldn't get out of this so easily.

"We were just talking, you know..." Daryl looked at Connie who narrowed her eyes as she remembered something.

_Wait, were you trying to propose to me back then?_ She wrote.

"Maybe," Daryl admitted, still ashamed of the whole conversation.

"Well, sorry for bursting in then," Rick said, still smiling.

_I'm actually thankful for that,_ Connie wrote, showing the note to everyone.  _He proposed to me on the beach and this was much more romantic._

"Daryl and romantic? I never thought I would hear these two words in one sentence," Rick laughed.

Everyone started laughing too, even Daryl, who told Rick to shut up.

"You should have seen him, he became quite a charmer," Michonne told Rick with a big smile and Connie wrote:  _True_

"Seems like I missed a lot," Rick said while still laughing.

"Well, next time you better stick around instead of leaving in a damn helicopter," Daryl told him.

They all laughed again, but then everyone became quiet.

Rick had told them his story before. How he was saved by Jadis and how she brought him to her community which was far away from Alexandria. How Rick recovered from his severe wound and became part of the community, which had its own medical center and a big army. Jadis told them about Rick's qualities and so he became soon an officer, commanding an army unit. They made it clear that he had to stay and he couldn't return home. The only thing Rick wanted, though, was to get back to his family and when he once tried to escape from the community, they caught him and locked him up. He spent several years imprisoned while they used him for some medical experiments which he assumed had something to do with them searching a cure. When they let him out, he spent another year, working for them before he finally managed to escape again, kidnapping a helicopter pilot. Together they flew back to Alexandria and on their way they saw a giant herd. They tried to redirect it, but strangely it didn't work, so Rick tried to reach someone on the radio, to warn them. When they landed, there was a fight and Rick had to kill the pilot before he went to Alexandria.

"Too bad we couldn't use the helicopter to redirect the herd," Rick said.

"We will find another way," Michonne told him and when she saw that RJ had fallen asleep on his lap and Judith was yawning, she added:

"Okay it's time to go to bed now."

"No, please, I want to hear more stories," Judith begged.

"You heard enough stories for today. Daddy is tired too, I think we should all go to sleep."

Everyone agreed.

"I'll show you your room," Michonne said then to Daryl, Connie, Lydia and Henry.

Before they went to bed, Rick and Daryl went outside and they were standing there in silence for a moment.

"Still can't believe you're here, man," Daryl said, touching Rick's shoulder like he was a mirage and Daryl was afraid he would disappear again when he touched him.

"Me neither," Rick said, looking Daryl directly in the eyes.

"Michonne told me you never stopped looking for me," he continued and Daryl looked away.

"Yeah, kinda became a silly habit of mine, looking for you out there every day." He paused and looked Rick in the eyes.

"I was sure, I wouldn't find you alive, though. I just needed a proof I guess."

Then he smiled.

"And now that I have it, I can't believe it. Still feels like a dream or something."

"Tell me about it," Rick laughed.

"I came back and was greeted by my daughter, who is almost a grown-up now. And then that beautiful little boy." Rick's voice was full of love and he had tears in his eyes.

"And you. You with your own little family. I'm so glad you found them."

"Hey, they found me," Daryl's voice trembled as he became emotional as well. "And I'll protect them no matter what."

Rick nodded.

"We've to do something about the herd," Daryl continued, he was concerned and this time it was Rick who touched his shoulder.

"We will figure something out," Rick assured him. Daryl looked at him and realized how much he had missed his friend. No matter how hopeless a situation seemed to be, Rick was always determined to do something to make things better. They have fought so many battles together and even though they didn't always agree on everything, Daryl relied on him as a leader, friend and brother. They always had each others backs. Daryl felt gratitude deep in his heart that he finally got him back.

"So you have a fiancee and a daughter now. Anything else I should know?" Rick asked Daryl.

"Maybe we'll have another kid," Daryl told him and Rick's eyes widened in surprise.

"Connie's probably pregnant, but we didn't tell anyone yet. So you're kinda the first person who knows about it."

Rick was touched.

"I'm so proud of you. I really am," he told Daryl.

"Stop," Daryl said, because he was tearing up again. Rick smiled.

"We'll keep them safe, at any cost," Daryl heard Rick saying and he knew Rick must have read in his eyes, how worried he was about Connie, Lydia and his friends.

Rick continued: "Alpha thinks she's strong, surrounding her with the dead. But we have the living on our side. She doesn't have a chance against us."


	30. Fireworks

Several days had passed and the inhabitants of Hilltop and Alexandria got together at the Sanctuary. They made a plan how to fight against the Whisperers. The herd passed Oceanside and after destroying it completely, it stayed near the ocean. The group decided, it would be the best idea to split the herd up and Eugene came up with a plan to lure a part of the herd into the ocean. The community, where Rick was living in the past couple of years, possessed a lot of different maps, where they marked important spots in many states. Jadis made a map of many important spots in their area for them too and Rick was able to steal it. One of the spots was a fireworks warehouse. So the group planned to get the fireworks and also to find a boat. They intended to split the herd and lure a part of it into the Kingdom and another part into the Junkjard. Since the Kingdom had fallen, Ezekiel was ready to sacrifice it, so they could burn it down along with the herd. The Junkjard would serve as a good place to fight the other part of the herd. They also decided to make Sanctuary their basis and they wanted to fight the rest of the herd from there, if the Whisperers still didn't retreat after the other battles.

Carol and Ezekiel left with a group and went to the Kingdom to prepare the battle there. Cyndie and Rachel took a group to the Junkjard, while Eugene and Aaron went to search a boat. Daryl and Rick decided to go to get the fireworks. Tara's group went back to the Hilltop to prepare people for the battle and Michonne decided to go back to Alexandria. Connie stayed back with Lydia, Henry and some other people at the Sanctuary to prepare it as their basis.

Connie sat next to Daryl, while they were eating breakfast. She didn't like to let him go, but she also didn't want to leave Lydia. After what happened to Oceanside, Lydia was very quiet, mostly sitting in a corner and no one could get through to her, not even Henry. Connie was afraid, she would run away or do something desperate and she was watching her closely, together with Daryl. But with the upcoming war they couldn't both just sit around, and so she agreed to let Daryl go together with Rick to find that firework warehouse, while she was watching over Lydia.

But it hurt her deep in her heart, to let Daryl go. They were together all the time and splitting up right now was hard. When they were finished with their breakfast, it was time to say goodbye.

Daryl saw the sad look on her face.

"You okay with staying here?" He asked Connie.

She signed :"Yes, that's okay." She tried to smile, but it didn't come out right.

"Hey, I hate to split up too, I wished we both could go," Daryl said.

"Me too," she signed and wrote:

_But we both know, somebody has to keep an eye on Lydia. She's taking it to her heart, that Oceanside was destroyed._

"I know," Daryl said looking in Lydia's direction, who was sitting on the stairs next to Henry with a depressed look on her face. Then he turned back to Connie.

"Please take care," Connie signed trying to hold back her tears, but she couldn't.

"I will, I promise," Daryl said, taking her face in his hands and wiping her tears away with his thumb. He pulled her closer and they shared a deep embrace. Connie held him tight, not wanting to let him go.

Rick came to them asking if Daryl was ready to go.

Daryl kissed Connie goodbye. It was a long tender kiss and neither of them wanted it to end.

"We'll be back soon, maybe even tonight," Daryl said, trying to cheer Connie up.

"I will keep an eye on him for you, don't worry," Rick told her.

Connie smiled and signed: "Thank you." And Rick nodded.

When they were sitting in the horse wagon and left the Sanctuary, Daryl looked back at Connie and waved her goodbye.

He turned back and saw that Rick was looking at him and smiling.

"It feels strange to leave her, we were together all the time," he told Rick.

"I know how it feels," Rick said. "It was the same with me and Michonne yesterday. She didn't want to leave and I didn't want her to. But we have to get ready for the war."

"Yeah," Daryl agreed.

"You being close with someone like that, that's still an unusual sight," Rick noted after some time.

Daryl said nothing just smiled timidly.

"I mean all those years, I never saw you being interested in anyone," Rick continued.

Daryl wasn't looking at him when he answered.

"Guess other things were more important the whole time. And then it just happened."

"Yeah, one day you just meet the right person," Rick told him and Daryl knew Rick was thinking about Michonne.

"So when this is all over, you're going to have a real wedding?" Rick asked him.

"Nah, nothing too fancy. We just wanna make something official, like exchanging rings, with some people present."

"And you have the rings already?"

"I had one, but I lost it during a dumb incident."

"Well, maybe we find you another one."

Rick retrieved his map. There was a spot marked with "Mall"

"Maybe there's something here."

Daryl looked at the map.

"Yeah, but let's get through with this first."

They arrived at the firework warehouse late in the afternoon. It was a big building, with colorful letters on it, which said: FIREWORKS. LARGEST SELECTION. LOWEST PRICES. They cautiously approached the building but couldn't see any walkers there. Daryl knocked on the door a couple of times and they heard some walker sounds inside. They gave each other a nod and while Daryl opened the door, Rick killed a couple of walkers coming out. After that, they went inside. The shelves were still filled with all kinds of fireworks.

"Seems like it's our lucky day," Daryl said and they started collecting them and loading them up into the horse wagon.

"Hope these babies still work," Daryl remarked when they were finished.

"We'll find out soon."

They rode back when it was getting dark already. On their way several walkers came out of the woods and attacked them. They had to stop under a bridge to fight them off. When they killed all of them, they heard some walkers up on the bridge. They both looked up just in the moment when two walkers were falling down and Daryl pushed Rick aside, because one of them almost landed on top on him.

Daryl fell on the ground when he was hit by the walker and he scraped up his arm and cheek. Rick quickly pulled the walker away from Daryl. He killed the walker and reached a hand out to Daryl.

"Thanks," Daryl said when he got up.

"No, thank YOU! That one almost got me. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Daryl answered, observing his bleeding lower arm. "But you should better stay the hell away from bridges," he added.

Rick gave him a friendly nudge.

"Come on, brother, lets get back and patch you up."

They came back late at night when almost everyone was asleep. Connie was still awake, though, and she ran to Daryl and hugged him when she saw him. She saw his injuries and gave him a worried look.

"I'm alright, don't worry," he told her.

She patched up Daryl's wounds and soon they went to sleep. Daryl was so tired he fell asleep immediately. He woke up some time later, when Henry was shaking his shoulder.

"Hey, guys wake up," Henry said.

"What is it," Daryl asked half asleep. Connie also woke up and rubbed her eyes.

Henry seemed to be upset about something.

"Lydia is gone."

Daryl felt like someone punched him in the gut.

"What do you mean, she's gone?" He asked with panic in his voice.

"I was sleeping and when I woke up, I found this." Henry showed them a note.

_Please don't be mad at me, I have to do this. I have to try to prevent a war.  
I don't want anyone of you to die, so I will go back and talk to my mother. I hope she will stand back.  
I love you all.  
_ _Lydia_


	31. Mother

Daryl and Connie got up quickly, Daryl grabbed his crossbow.

"Let's go, she can't be gone that long, she was still here when I came back," Daryl said and Connie nodded.

"Okay, let's go," Henry said, but Daryl put his hand against Henry's chest.

"No, you stay here, it's too risky."

"Are you kidding? I have to go with you, she's my girlfriend," Henry replied.

"Henry, we don't have time for this, you're staying," Daryl said with a firm voice, but Henry just went towards the door.

"You're right we don't have time for this and you can't make me stay."

Daryl sighed and looked at Connie, who was concerned but couldn't think of anything to make Henry stay either.

Rick, who was planning to return to Alexandria the next day, came to them and Daryl quickly explained to him what happened. They decided that Rick would go back to Alexandria immediately and see how far the preparations for the battle were.

When they stepped outside, Daryl let Dog sniff at one of Lydia's shirts. Dog ran ahead and Daryl, Connie and Henry followed him. They were walking quickly, trying to catch up with Dog. The sun began to rise and Daryl looked closely at the ground and the surroundings, trying to find Lydia's tracks.

He knelt down as he saw a footprint.

"I think that's hers, she came through here," he told Connie and Henry. Connie nodded, but then she saw a movement between the trees. A walker was approaching them and she quickly took out her slingshot and shot the walker, which came towards them. But it wasn't the only one, more walkers were approaching. Daryl shot one with his crossbow, Henry killed one with his spear and they started to kill more walkers, but the more they killed, the more walkers were coming and Connie counted almost twenty of them, walking towards them. She showed Daryl the sign to retreat and he nodded.

"Yeah, let's get out of here," he said.

"But, the tracks..." Henry began, but Daryl cut him off.

"We find another way to catch up on them." Daryl shoved Henry away from the tracks and walkers.

It took them hours to find the tracks again and they were all a little bit tired already, but they started to move faster trying to catch up to Lydia. Not far from Oceanside they finally saw her sitting under a tree with her knees to her chest, when she saw them she tried to run away. Connie was glad, that Daryl was fast enough to catch her. Connie didn't feel well, she felt dizzy and she thought, if she had to run much longer, she would pass out.

Lydia shouted at Daryl and tried to break free from him, but he just pulled her closer and hugged her. Connie was so relieved they finally found Lydia. As they all made their way back, Dog suddenly stopped and started to bark. And then from every direction walkers were coming at them. They were all staying back to back with their weapons out, ready to fight. When they fought off many of the walkers, other walkers were closing in at them. But these walkers suddenly stopped and one of them pulled a shotgun out.

"You, better hand over your weapons," a woman in a walker mask said. Connie was still aiming with her slingshot, but there were too many of them and they all had weapons.

"Now!" the woman spoke again. Connie lowered her slingshot and in the next moment something hit her on the head and everything went black.

When Connie woke up, everything was blurry for a moment. She blinked a couple of times to get a clear sight. She noticed that she was tied to something. In front of her she saw Daryl and Henry, who were tied to trees too. Henry was still unconscious, while Daryl tried to get free. Connie tried to move too, but the ropes were very tight around her body.

Connie saw a woman with a bald head approaching and recognized Alpha. Lydia was walking right behind her. Connie was surprised that she was free, but also happy that Alpha didn't kill her.

Henry woke up and looked surprisingly at Lydia, who was looking at the ground.

"Good, you're awake now," Alpha said, walking between them.

Connie felt suddenly nausea coming up and she had to vomit. Alpha watched her closely. As she approached her, Daryl was desperately moving, as he tried to break free.

"You're feeling sick, my dear?" Alpha asked her. She crouched in front of her.

"Could it be that you have a baby in here?" She touched Connie's belly and Connie was disgusted by her touch, but couldn't get away from her.

"I remember you. You were the one who took our baby, isn't that so?" Alpha asked her and Connie gave her a defiant look.

"Yes, that was you." Alpha smiled.

"Hey, you let the baby out there to die," Daryl shouted and Alpha turned to him.

"Leave her the fuck alone," he told her through his teeth.

"And who are you to talk to me like that?" Alpha got up and went to him. "You took my daughter and it was you, who killed Beta, isn't that so?"

"He got what he deserved," Daryl said.

Connie was anxiously watching Daryl talking like that. She knew he was trying to distract Alpha from her, but she was afraid that Alpha would kill him and she would rather die instead of seeing her killing him.

"And your daughter doesn't want to be with you anymore, she has a new family now," Daryl continued.

"I guess that's why she came back to me?" Alpha asked calmly. Daryl looked at Lydia with a questioning look, but she just looked away. Alpha saw that.

"It's true, she came to me and she lured you here. She said, she knew you would follow her and she was hoping I would take her back, when she brought me the one who killed Beta."

"That's bullshit," Daryl said with a snarl.

"Oh yeah?" Alpha turned around to Lydia.

"Come here, child," she told her and Lydia obeyed. Alpha put a hand on Lydia's shoulder, who was still looking at the ground.

"You're right Alpha. I don't care about those people, please forgive me for leaving you," she said and her voice sounded almost like the voice of a robot.

"See?" Alpha asked Daryl triumphantly. Daryl said nothing, just gave her an angry look. Alpha went back to Connie again and he desperately tried again to get free.

"You want revenge ain't it? So come here and get it," he shouted out and Connie anxiously shook her head. Alpha looked with a creepy smile at both of them.

"Revenge is something for people. We're not people. But we need to get rid of you all."

Alpha aimed with her shotgun at Connie's belly.

"You and your baby first."

Connie's heart was beating fast. She was afraid for her life and she felt sorry for Daryl who would have to watch it. He looked at her with a sad and desperate look in his eyes.

He was screaming something like "Leave her alone" Connie couldn't see it properly. She felt the blood pulsating in her ears. She closed her eyes and some tears were running down her cheeks. She prepared for the pain, but nothing happened. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Alpha gave her shotgun to Lydia.

"Here, child. Prove that you're not weak. Kill her." Lydia took the shotgun and Connie could see that her hands were shaking. Lydia pointed it at her and Connie looked at her in disbelief. Did Lydia betray them? Did she lie all the time? No, Connie's mind told her that was impossible. And then Lydia proved that Connie was right, when she spun around and aimed the shotgun at Alpha. She pulled the trigger but there was no shooting sound, which even Connie would have noticed.

"What?" Lydia said in surprise and Alpha just laughed.

"I was wrong. You're stronger than I thought," she told her. "Ready to kill your own mother."

"You're not my mother anymore," Lydia said angrily. She looked at Connie and there was so much love in that look. Lydia wanted her to know that Connie was her real mother and Connie's heart almost busted with love and pain. There was also something else in Lydia's look. Something that told Connie she knew what would come next.

"You're wrong, I am your mother. I gave you life. And now I'm taking it." With this words, Alpha pulled a knife out and drove it into Lydia's stomach.


	32. Battle

"No!"

Daryl didn't even realize, that he was screaming. He almost got his arms free, but it was too late to safe Lydia. Alpha came to him and said: "Psst!", putting a finger on his lips. But Daryl, whose arms were finally free, put his hands around her neck and started chocking her. His anger was driving him and giving him the power, he watched how her eyes widened and out of surprise she dropped her knife. Three Whisperers came towards them and took their knives out. One was approaching Connie. Daryl let go of Alpha, who breathed in heavily. He picked up the knife and stabbed her leg. She fell on one knee. Daryl quickly cut the ropes and got free.

"Kill them all," Alpha said holding her bleeding leg. Daryl threw the knife at the Whisperer who was approaching Connie and hit him in the head. The Whisperer fell on the ground and dropped his knife. Connie tried to reach the knife with her foot, but it was too far away. In the meantime Daryl was fighting another Whisperer. Daryl received several cuts, before he could get the upper hand and kill him. Daryl took his knife. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Alpha stood up and was trying to get away. He considered going after her and killing her, but he couldn't leave Connie and Henry with the last Whisperer, who would kill them. So instead he picked up another knife from the dead Whisperer and fought the last whisperer with two knives, finally killing him by stabbing one knife into his throat. After that he helped Connie and Henry to get free. Connie hugged him quickly but then went to Lydia, who was lying on the ground in a big puddle of blood, holding her bleeding wound. Her eyes were closed, but she was still breathing. Connie sat on the ground and lifted Lydia's upper body carefully and placed Lydia's head in her lap, so she would lie in a more comfortable position. Henry was on his knees, holding Lydia's hand. Daryl was just standing there, he couldn't move and for a moment he thought that everything that he saw wasn't real. It couldn't be. There was a numbness inside him and his sight became blurry.

Lydia opened her eyes.

"Hey," she said faintly. Connie pulled the hair out of Lydia's face, caressing her cheek and crying.

"Hey, you're going to be alright, everything is going to be okay," Henry mumbled. He was crying too.

Lydia tried to shake her head.

"Don't be sad," she brought out. She had difficulty speaking.

"Thank ... you … for …for... being my… fami-" She didn't finish the sentence, her eyes fell shut and her head rolled to one side. Her hand slipped lifelessly from her wound.

"Nooo! Please no," Henry sobbed, bending over Lydia's body and putting his arms around her. Daryl felt that the numbness inside him was suddenly replaced by a sharp pain and tears were rising in his eyes. He felt guilty that he couldn't safe his girl. They all were silent for a minute, then Connie kissed Lydia's forehead and stood up. She went to Daryl and they hugged, comforting each other in their pain. Henry was still holding Lydia. Daryl looked to Lydia and then to the knife in his hand. He knew someone had to do it and the pain at the thought of this was unbearable, but he didn't want that Henry or Connie would have to go through it. However, before he could release Lydia from the fate of being revived as a walker, they heard rustling sounds and saw a walker herd approaching.

"Shit!" Daryl shouted out. He and Connie grabbed Henry, who was still holding Lydia's hand and they ran. They were all devastated and exhausted, Daryl thought for a moment that they wouldn't make it. But then he heard a loud noise behind him, which sounded like an explosion. And then again and again. The herd behind them seemed to be irritated and some of the walkers broke away and went back into the direction of the sound. Daryl, Connie and Henry were still running from the herd, when Daryl suddenly saw Dog running to him. And behind Dog there were horse wagons and Rick, Michonne, Tara and Gabriel with some other people standing there. Daryl petted Dog's head, still too devastated about Lydia to be happy about Dog being alive and then he went to Rick.

"Good thing, your friend showed us where you were," Rick said pointing at Dog.

Daryl wasn't able to speak, his eyes were still filled with tears.

"What happened?" Rick asked him.

"Lydia." It was the only thing Daryl could say.

Rick gave him a compassionate look.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry… I…" Rick couldn't speak either.

Daryl turned away and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"So, our plan is working?" He asked then.

"Yeah, we're trying to split the herd," Rick told him.

"We also found a boat, so when it gets dark we'll lead part of the herd into the ocean."

"That's good."

They were standing there, waiting for the herd to approach. And when it came, they started to fight off the walkers and Whisperers and retreating now and then to lead them into the direction of the ocean. The herd became thinner, since the other groups were doing the same, managing to split it up and lead parts of the herd to the other points of the battle. When it started to get dark, Tara and Gabriel got into the boat and took a load of fireworks with them.

"Good luck," Michonne told them.

"Thanks, we gonna need it," Tara answered. They were lucky, the ocean was calm, so they moved further out and fired a firework rocket. A couple of walkers started to walk towards the water. Daryl, Rick and the others were still fighting the rest.

Gabriel and Tara succeeded to lure a couple of dozen walkers into the ocean but then a high wind came up and with it the waves became bigger and bigger making the boat rock from side to side.

In the meantime the others were fighting the walkers. Connie saw Alpha in the distance. She had her mask on now, but Connie still recognized her. She started to fight her way through the herd to get to her.

"Connie!" Daryl shouted, but she wasn't looking at him, so she didn't notice it. Daryl wanted to run after her, but then he saw a couple of walkers closing in on Rick. He ran to him and fought off two of them. The last one was above Rick, but Daryl quickly got this one too.

"You alright?" Daryl asked Rick and helped him up.

"Yeah, thanks," Rick answered holding his shoulder. Another couple of walkers started to come to them. The herd was still big and they had to retreat.

"You go, I've to find Connie," Daryl said. Rick nodded and he and Michonne started to lead the herd towards the Sanctuary.

In the meantime Connie almost lost Alpha out of sight, but then she saw her standing on a small hill. She found a way to sneak up on her from behind and aimed with her slingshot at her head. But then Alpha turned around and shot at Connie. Connie was able to dodge, but the shot grazed her left hand, and a stinging pain drove through her body. She held her bleeding hand for a moment, but then Alpha threw her shotgun on the ground and approached her with her knife out. So Connie took her knife out too. She dodged Alpha's first attack and managed to cut her arm, then Alpha placed a hit with her knife on Connie's shoulder. They were fighting each other, cutting each other with their knives and dodging attacks. For the first time in many years Connie used her voice. She was screaming. She didn't realize it first and she also didn't hear its sound. She didn't know how it sounded, but the scream came out of her like she was an animal. The anger about Lydia's death was driving her crazy. After some time they fought each other with their fists, because both lost their knives during the fight.

"You made me kill my daughter, you will die," Alpha said. She got the upper hand and started hitting and chocking Connie. Connie was on the ground, but she was hitting Alpha too, trying to get free and she was pulling at her mask, which finally slipped off Alpha's face. Then Connie placed her thumbs over Alphas eyes and started to push her fingers in. She didn't knew if the blood which was dripping down on her face was coming from her own bleeding hand or from Alpha's eyes. Alpha cried out and let her go for a second and Connie punched her in the face. Alpha was holding her eyes and Connie was able to get up. She hit her knee against Alpha's chin so hard that Alpha fell backwards. She lost the balance and rolled down the small hill, landing in front of several walkers. Connie looked down and could see how the walkers closed in on Alpha and started to bite out the flesh of her shoulder and cheek. Alpha tried to get away, but it had no use, there were too many walkers and this time she couldn't hide. Connie watched how the walkers devoured her and then she saw that one of them was Lydia. She fell on her knees an began to cry.

Daryl saw Connie on her knees on a top of a hill he ran to her. He lifted her on her feet and hugged her. Her beautiful face was covered in bruises and blood and she also had several cutting wounds all over her body, just like he did. It was painful to see her like that, but he was happy that she was still alive. He couldn't take it to lose her too.

When Daryl looked down, he could see several walkers devouring someone, who wasn't recognizable anymore, but he figured out that it had to be Alpha. Then he saw Lydia with the walkers. Daryl put his crossbow up and aimed, but Connie lay a hand on his crossbow and he put it down again. Then she picked up her slingshot, aimed and hit walker Lydia's eye, whose lifeless body fell on the ground. She started sobbing and Daryl hugged her again.

They caught up with the group, which was headed to the Sanctuary and even though Alpha was dead, the Whisperers and the walker herd were still following them. Enid managed to quickly patch them up on the way while some of them still were trying to fight off the herd. When they arrived at the Sanctuary they picked up their weapons and prepared to continue to fight. When Daryl was standing next to Rick he noticed the bloody spot on Rick's shoulder and wondered why Rick didn't let Enid to patch him up. Then they looked at each other and Daryl shivered as he read the reason in Rick's eyes.


	33. Hope

The battle at the Sanctuary took forever, and they fought with whatever they had. When they almost ran out of ammo and were exhausted, the group from the Junkjard came back and finally also the group from the Kingdom. With united forced they were finally able to fight the rest of the herd and the Whisperers. When the fight was over, people were sitting or lying on the ground, catching their breath. They won, but somehow no one was able to realize it yet. Daryl had his arm around Connie's waste, who was leaning on his shoulder. He looked around and he felt like he was drowning. Connie was the only reason which kept him alive. He watched how people were hugging each other, crying and laughing. Daryl saw how Carol and Ezekiel hugged Henry, who was still devastated about Lydia's death. He saw Eugene and Aaron hugging Tara, who was the only one who made it out of the ocean. Gabriel drowned as the big waves sunk their boat. Rachel was surrounded by people from the Oceanside and Martha was petting her shoulder. She was sad about Cyndie, who was killed when they were fighting at the Junkjard. Henry went to Vicky to tell her about Lydia. Magna and Yumiko greeted Luke, who had been fighting at the Kingdom while they were at the Junkjard. There was a lot of happiness and sadness in people's faces. And Daryl could also see the guilt some people felt, who couldn't safe their loved ones. Daryl felt it too. He couldn't safe Lydia and pain weighed heavily on his heart. And now there was something else coming, something equally bad. Daryl looked at Rick who was talking to Michonne. He knew what he was telling her and it was painful to see her reaction. She fell on her knees, holding a hand over her mouth in disbelief. Rick and Daryl exchanged a quick look. In this moment Daryl wished he could take the pain away from him, from her and from all the people around him. And he also wished someone could take his pain away.

They decided to go back to Alexandria as soon as possible. Rick wanted to spend the time he had left with his children. When they arrived at Alexandria the next day, the people who stayed there welcomed them back, happily cheering and celebrating their victory. But none of them felt like the winner of the battle. Connie and Daryl were still grieving Lydia. Daryl was also devastated because of Rick. Connie didn't know what to do. She wished she could cheer Daryl up, but her heart was heavy with grief too.

They sat for hours on the veranda of one of the houses in Alexandria. Rick was holding RJ in his lap, Judith and Michonne were sitting next to him. Connie and Daryl were sitting on the opposite side and Daryl was petting Dog, lost in his thoughts. They were waiting. But waiting for what? Michonne was checking on Rick now and then but he still didn't have a fever, which was strange and even though Connie knew it was impossible, she prayed every minute for a little miracle, which would safe Rick. Daryl couldn't take to lose him again, not after what he had lost already.

"What if you won't get sick, daddy. It could happen, right?" Judith asked and Rick gave her a sad smile.

"We talked about it, honey. This is very unlikely."

"But what if she's right?" Michonne suddenly asked. Rick frowned.

"Didn't you say those people were doing some experiments with you? What if they found a cure?"

But Rick shook his head.

"Look, I know you all want to believe, I want to believe too. But there is no cure. Maybe it will be another process and that's why the fever didn't break yet, but we all know how this will end."

Everyone was silent again. Connie petted Daryl's hand who finally looked at her and took her hand in his.

"I think you will survive dad," Judith finally told him with confidence in her voice and hugged him. Rick had tears in his eyes, he didn't say anything this time and just hugged her back.

After three days had passed and Rick still didn't show any sign of fever and the wound on his shoulder began to heal, everyone finally started to believe, that Judith was right. It was a little ray of light in their grief and Connie was thankful for this miracle.

Days went by and then weeks. Daryl, Connie and Dog were living in one house with the Grimes family. Daryl and Connie found support in their friends and in each other while they were grieving their daughter. Sometimes they remembered the good times they had with her and sometimes they hold each other and cried. But they didn't stop talking about her and she was always in their hearts. They weren't able to bring her body back to Alexandria, but they made a little grave for her, so they had a place to think about her. It was just a little wooden cross next to Carl's grave. Next to the cross were always fresh flowers and they also placed the little red playing piece from Candy Land next it.

Life in Alexandria went on. There was a lot to do. They were building new houses in Alexandria and Hilltop, since there were many new people there. They were planning to have another little fair in Alexandria, so the communities could do some trade.  
Rick told Daryl he found another spot on Jadis' map, which he would like to check out, to get some more stuff for the fair.

"So, two months passed now, how does it feel to be the fucking miracle of this damn world?" Daryl asked as they moved out.

Rick laughed shortly.

"I don't know what to think about it, to be honest," Rick answered as he touched his shoulder which was healed completely by now. "But it sure feels like a fucking miracle."

Daryl looked at him.

"Well, since you came back from the dead, nothing surprises me anymore."

"Yeah. Hopefully Eugene can make the radio from the helicopter work, so we can contact them," Rick said thoughtfully.

"You ain't planning to go back there, are ya?"

"Are you kidding?" Rick laughed. "No way I will leave my family again. If the radio doesn't work, I'll send them a postcard."

They both laughed.

"But seriously, knowing that there is a cure somewhere, gives us new possibilities."

Daryl nodded.

They arrived in a small abandoned town.

"I don't know what you thing to find here," Daryl said, when they drove through the town.

"Looks like a place we searched already and there ain't shit here."

"You're wrong, there is actually something here. Something important," Rick told him and when Daryl looked at him questioningly, he just laughed and made the horses stop.

"Come on, I'll show you."

They both got down and walked a bit, before they came to a jewelry store. Daryl saw to Rick with a faint smile on his lips and Rick slightly tilted his head, encouraging him to go in.

Daryl looked inside the store through the dirty window and it seemed to be safe. They broke the door open and walked in.

"Can't believe you brought me here," Daryl told Rick with a thankful smile.

"Hey, I promised you, we find some wedding rings for you. You still want to do it, right?"

Daryl nodded and went through the store looking at all the jewelry and wedding rings.

When found the two rings he wanted, he took an iron bar and broke the glass of the jewelry display case. He handed Rick the iron bar and took the rings out.

"Hope you won't put me in jail for this," he told Rick, joking, showing him the rings.

"I think I can turn a blind eye to that. But only this time," Rick answered and they smiled.

They went outside and there was a wedding fashion store near the jewelry store.

"Hey, and you're sure, you don't want to put something like this on too?"

Daryl looked at Rick and then at the wedding suit he was pointing at.

"Pfft," Daryl made. "If you want me to put this thing on, you have to hit me unconscious with that first", he told him them pointing on the iron bar in Rick's hand.

They both laughed and Daryl put a hand on Rick's shoulder.

"Come on, brother, let's see what else we can find here."

They didn't find much, only some books and clothes.

They also came across a baby store and Daryl picked up some things for his baby.

"Did you pick a name yet?" Rick asked him as Daryl was holding a doll in his hands.

"Not yet, but I've a feeling it's going to be a girl," Daryl said.

When they came back, Daryl asked Rick to take the rings, so Connie wouldn't see them.

Connie hugged and kissed Daryl when she saw him.

"Did you find anything?" She signed.

"Oh, nothing special, just a couple of things. And this." He showed her a little doll.

_That's cute, but what if it will be a boy?_ Connie wrote.

"I'm sure it's gonna be a girl," Daryl told her.

Connie gave him a suspicious look.

"You'll see." Daryl smiled and gave her a kiss.

_Maybe we should start thinking about a name,_ Connie wrote.

Daryl nodded. He already had a name in mind.


	34. Together

After a week had passed, Alexandria was crowded with many people. Almost everyone from Hilltop came to the little fair they had arranged.

Daryl smiled as he saw Ezekiel, Carol and Henry arriving. Ezekiel gave Carol a kiss before he came down from the horse wagon and reached a hand to Carol to help her get down. They all hugged Daryl and Connie.

When Daryl had a moment alone with Carol, he told her, he was glad, she and Ezekiel were back together.

"Seems like I can't live without some corny things in my life," Carol told him.

"Just admit it, you're happy with him," Daryl said.

Carol looked at him.

"Yes, I am," she said and Daryl smiled, as he saw the genuine smile on her face.

"But look who's talking, when is your big day? Or did I miss it?" She asked nudging him.

"No, don't worry you're here right in time."

Carol's eyes widened in surprise.

Connie greeted her friends in the meantime, who were living at the Hilltop now and she didn't see them for some time. But they all knew that she was pregnant. Luke brought her a Teddy.

"We found this on one of our runs," he signed. Connie hugged him as she took the gift.

"Are you having a baby?" Judith exclaimed. She was walking by, in that moment.

Connie smiled at her but then put a finger on her lips.

"It's a secret?" Judith asked and Connie nodded. Only close friends knew about the baby, she wanted to wait just one more month to make it official.

"Okay," Judith said and then made a gesture like she was locking her mouth and throwing away the key. Connie smiled again.

They made room for as many people as possible outside, by pushing the tables together, so they all could sit together and eat.

Daryl was getting nervous. He was excited about Connie's reaction when he would finally give her the wedding ring, but he was also anxious to make it in front of a big group. Talking in front of many people always made him feel uneasy.

When they all sat at the table, people were talking about the fight against the Whisperers, Rick's miracle healing and other things.

RJ ate everything on his plate and as he politely asked for more, Rick smiled and told Michonne that he was growing so fast.

"He really does," Judith agreed and then added: "When will I get another brother or sister, daddy?"

Michonne, who was drinking, almost spit her drink out, because she had to laugh, when she saw the look in Rick's eyes.

"Maybe you should give daddy a break," she told Judith, still laughing.

"Alright." Judith sighed.

"At least I will get a little cousin soon," Judith said, but then immediately put her hands above her mouth as she realized she prattled it away.

Connie, who was watching her, smiled. She wasn't angry about it.

"Sorry aunty, I didn't mean to."

"It's okay", Connie signed." Then she turned to everyone sitting at the table. It was surprisingly quiet now.

"I have some happy news for you all. Daryl and I are going to have a baby," she signed and Luke interpreted it for everyone.

Their friends started to congratulate them and Daryl was smiling and his face turned slightly red. He looked at Rick who gave him an encouraging nod.

"Well, there's um... Something else we would like to share with you." He cleared his throat and tried to ignore the fact that everybody was looking at him.

He turned to Connie, who was smiling and even though there was still some grieve in his heart, he also felt very happy. Happy that she was still there, still with him and to see her smile meant everything to him. She was the woman he wanted to spend his life with, she was the reason he was living and breathing. She was everything for him. He wanted to say so much, but he couldn't bring the words out right and it didn't matter, because in her eyes was so much love for him and she knew how he felt about her.

"Some time ago, you agreed to be my wife, I hope you didn't change your mind, hon."

Connie just smiled and shook her head.

Daryl got out the rings. He saw how Connie's face began to glow and her smile became even bigger when she saw them.

"You're my life. My everything. You know that, right?" Daryl asked and Connie nodded with some tears in her eyes.

"I love you." He said and put the ring on her finger and she put the other ring on his. When they were finished everyone was clapping and cheering.

"I think it's okay when you kiss your wife now," Rick whispered and Daryl forgot for a moment that everyone was looking at them. He lifted Connie into his arms and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back as their friends were cheering for them.

* * *

A couple of years passed. Years of grieve and happiness, years of building and growing, years of hope and normal life. Rick, Daryl, Michonne and Connie were sitting on the veranda of their house and no one could tell they were living in the middle of the apocalypse. No one could tell those four people lived different lives before the outbreak. They just looked a normal family.

Judith was sitting under a tree, skimming through a magazine, which was probably older than she was. Her brother was chasing a little girl, who had black curls and the biggest smile ever seen in the apocalyptic world. She was fast on her little legs and outran RJ. Daryl got up and started chasing his daughter, who tried to outrun him too and who was laughing all the time.

"Not so fast, you little whirlwind," Daryl told her as he caught her and lifter her from the ground.

"I'm faster than RJ, you saw that, daddy?" The girl told him proudly

"I saw it," Daryl said and laughed. "Soon you'll be faster than me too."

She gave him a kiss.

When it was evening and Connie and Daryl put their little daughter to bed, Connie signed "I love you" to her. The little girl repeated the sign and Connie kissed her forehead.

"I love you, daddy." The girl told Daryl, when he kissed her goodnight.

"I love you too, Lydia."


End file.
